Dangerous Games
by QueenofOld
Summary: Logan gets out of jail to find that his mob boss brother, Victor, has married a much younger, very beautiful woman named Marie. When Victor leaves Marie in his brother's care during a business trip, sparks fly. AU Rogan. Read my A/N.
1. Chapter 1

**Dangerous Games**

**Rating: M**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the X Men characters that make an appearance in this fic.**

**A/N: No powers in this one. You might see some characters make random appearances throughout. Keep a look out at the top of each section within the chapter. I feel like the story will be more interesting I have the freedom to let you see it from first and third person perspectives.  
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_**Marie's POV- 1st Person  
**_

Here I sit, in front of the ornate vanity, combing my hair in mine and Victor's large, overly dramatic bedroom. I smile as I suddenly felt his hand brush the hair off of my neck, "You look gorgeous, doll."

I look at his reflection as he towers over me in the mirror, his large hand traveling down into the robe to cup my breast, "Thanks...what are you dressed for? It's almost midnight."

"Got some business to attend to, baby. Don't wait up..."

I sucked my teeth and moved from beneath his hands as I stood up and stomped across the room to our expansive walk-in closet. He's always leaving for "business" in the middle of the night. He won't tell me what it's about or who he's with...I'm just supposed to smile and paste on a grin while he runs out and does god knows what with who knows what.

"Marie. Don't gimme shit...not tonight."

A grumble escapes my throat as I opened the jewelry drawer and begin removing my large sapphire earrings that he gave me to for my last birthday, "I'm not giving you shit."

He appeared in the doorway and leaned in, "Don't forget that you have all this stuff because I fuckin' go out at midnight and don't get home til morning."

I throw my hands up, "Lest we forget! _Your highness_..."

The fact that his mysterious business dealings are the reason why I'm able to sit in a lavish mansion all by myself, waiting for a husband who can't stop sticking it in every female who crosses his path, is always thrown in my face. His money is something he reminds me of constantly and it annoys the ever loving shit out of me.

"Don't do that..."

I shoot him a glare and remove my bracelet, "Do what?"

"You know what...be a smart ass. You know that fuckin' drives me insane."

I slam the drawer shut and decide to ignore his presence, knowing that would piss him off even further.

"So now you're just not gonna talk to me? Is that it? You're gonna ignore your own husband like he's fuckin' invisible?"

I move around the closet without even looking in his direction. By the time I try to brush past him, he was nearly trembling in anger.

Victor suddenly grabs me by the waist and violently yanks me close, "You think you can ignore me? I have to fuckin' teach you this lesson every time..."

He quickly spins me around and marches me to the bed where he throws me down face first and yanks up my silken bathrobe, pushing the fabric over my bare ass.

I put up the same fight I've put up hundreds of times, but don't bother to break a sweat because I know he'll win anyways, "Vic! Stop it!"

Victor grabs my arms and forces them behind my back as if he's about to put some cuffs on. He gathers my wrists in one of his large hands and opens his pants with the other, freeing his erection. He grins sinisterly as he runs a hand up my pussy before sticking his finger inside, immediately causing me to slow my struggling and moan obligingly as he strokes my g spot.

He quickly withdraws his finger and replaces it with his rock hard member, making me cry out in pleasure. At that moment, I hate myself for allowing the physical pleasure to cloud my judgement of right and wrong.

I hate myself for not being stronger.

As usual, he fucked me hard, fast and without much consideration for my needs. Though he always felt good inside of me, once we got married, sometimes, he just stopped making the effort or taking the time to bring me to a climax.

This was one of those times. He cried out in orgasm a mere three minutes after entering me, thrusting roughly and erratically into me as the last strands of semen spurted inside of me.

He collapsed on top of me, feeling heavy and reeking of that expensive cologne he uses too much of. I feel his hot breath on my ear as he lays there, crushing me under his weight and panting heavily for a few moments. It's a welcome relief when he finally pulls from me.

He slaps my ass, redresses and leaves after tossing a casual "Don't wait up, doll" my way.

I stayed there, bent over the edge of my overly expensive bed with my $400 silk robe bunched up over my ass, wearing my 4 carat Tiffany platinum and diamond wedding rings. Despite all that, I felt like nothing more than a common whore.

As I made my way to the shower and stood under the warm spray, I remembered the circumstances surrounding how I ended up here...the trophy wife of a hot tempered, perpetually unfaithful mob boss with a jealous streak the size of Texas.

Once upon a time, I was smart. I had ambition and I was full of promise. Of course, it's hard to sympathize with a woman who lives in a multimillion dollar mansion and has a collection of designer clothing and shoes that even the women of Sex and the City would be jealous of...but I'm lacking true happiness.

If anyone can tell you that money can't buy happiness, it's me.

Just three years ago, I lived in a ratty apartment and worked as a waitress while attending college full time.

Then I met Victor...or "Vic" as his friends called him. He was handsome, charismatic, charming and persistent as hell.

I waited on him at the restaurant and he flirted shamelessly, but I kept it professional. At the end of the night, he favored me with a generous tip and his phone number scribbled on a piece of paper. I threw the paper out and used the tip to pay for a book for my Women and Gender Studies course.

A week later, he returned to the restaurant while my section was chocked full of an after-opera crowd of snobby businessmen and their wine drenched wives. It would have been an understatement to say I was a little busy.

He followed me around, doing his best to convince me that I should give him a shot. I was so busy, he ended up actually taking some of the plates from my hand to help me deliver them to my tables.

That won me over, so I agreed to a date.

He picked me up in a limo and gifted me with a dozen long stemmed roses, then wined and dined me at a restaurant that was so fancy, I wouldn't have been comfortable even walking in front of it in casual clothes.

I was impressed, and he was the perfect gentleman...so I agreed to another date. That time, he took me to one of the hottest clubs in the city...which he happened to own. We were VIPs and got into the club ahead of a long line of potential patrons who'd been waiting in the cold for a chance to spot a celebrity and drink fifteen dollar drinks.

We headed straight for a VIP booth, where Victor introduced me to a few of his friends, who I spent the whole night dazzling with my brilliant sense of humor.

At the end of the night, Victor found some brilliant reason to take me back to his place, but I played hard to get and ended up slipping from beneath his roaming hands to take a cab home.

He called me four times the next day.

I later figured out it was because he wasn't used to women saying "no" to him...I guess I intrigued him.

Two dates turned to four, four turned to eight and eight turned to sixteen. I managed to make it four months before having sex with him. Our first time was at his place, after a candle lit dinner.

Two months after that, he proposed. I happily and dumbly accepted.

I just wanted to have a small, understated wedding attended by only family and friends. Vic refused that idea and insisted on a circus of a wedding in which the who's who of the New York social scene was invited and the size of the guest list would rival that of a minor league baseball game crowd.

Despite the fact that the huge wedding was his idea, he refused to lift a finger to help plan it. I had a professional wedding planner following me around everywhere I went, but all decisions HAD to go through me...so grades started to slip. When I complained about it, Vic suggested...(more like demanded)...I quit school and just concentrate on "us".

After not quite enough thinking on my part, I agreed and quit school with only three semesters remaining before I earned my degree in Psychology.

I'll admit, getting married to Victor was a huge deal. Our engagement announcement ended up on page 6 and dammit, I hated the way it read...

_New York real estate magnate and popular club owner Victor Creed, 39, is set to marry his 20 year old girlfriend, Anna Marie D'Ancanto, this October. The two met while D'Ancanto was working as a waitress at Saffron's Bistro in midtown. The couple was recently spotted in the Hamptons where Creed owns a beach home and where many believe the wedding is scheduled to take place._

Aside from the fact that, yes, all of New York knew where my super secret, exclusive wedding was to take place...I hated that our age differences just _had_ to be pointed out. I also hated that I was nothing more than a pretty little 20 year old waitress who was lucky enough to land a rich, older man.

Go me.

About two weeks before the wedding, a man who Victor had a very dirty, very public dispute with was killed in a violent home invasion.

I thought nothing of it...until the police arrived at our door to question my future husband.

In retrospect, I should have run right then...but when the police left, I decided to gently prod...

_He sat on the bed, untying his tie as I climbed onto the bed behind him and began massaging his tense shoulders. I kissed his neck, "What was all that about, baby?"_

_"Not much...just asking about Ronny."_

_I stopped massaging him, "But...why would they need to talk to you about that?"_

_He patted my hands and turned to give me a quick kiss on the lips, "They always ask around like that. Don't worry about it, doll."_

_I watched as he got up and undressed before going into the shower. I followed him, opened the shower door and looked him square in the eye, "Vic...did you have something to do with Ronny's death?"_

_He calmly reached out, took the shower door and pulled it out of my hand before he looked back into my eyes, "Don't ask me about my business, Marie...ever"_

And that was it.

I convinced myself that there was nothing to be concerned about in our lives. I convinced myself that we were a normal, extremely rich, couple. It's normal for a house to have a state-of-the-art security system complete with cameras, trained dobermans and 24 hour armed guards...right?

The wedding was large and lavish, full of pomp and circumstance, thanks to Victor. Immediately after our honeymoon, Victor began to change. I decided that I wanted to go back to school and finish up my last year and a half, but he refused to allow it.

His suspicious business dealings began to worry me, especially with so many men loitering around the house looking like stereotypical mafia drones. It seemed off...almost like a mob movie.

A few months into our marriage, I found an empty condom wrapper in the pants he left strewn on our closet floor. I was livid when I confronted him, calling him names and throwing objects.

He rushed over and grabbed my arms, pinning them to my sides as I screamed obscenities at him and cried out in anger and pain. When I collapsed against him in tears, he hugged me close and told me how much he loved me and how other women didn't mean anything.

Victor stripped me down and fucked me into submission that night, effectively ridding me of the desire to leave him. He reminded me of all the pretty things I had because of him and bought me an expensive piece of jewelry the next day.

We do that at least once a week now...fight, fuck and forget...or at least, he forgets...I drink dirty martinis.

I thought of having my own little affair just to teach him a lesson, but I was convinced that Vic would kill the unlucky bastard I chose to help me carry out my vengeance. I couldn't have that on my head.

Even though Victor is a completely fine specimen of a man, he's well aware that he's nearly 20 years older than me and he'll be the first to admit that I'm a knockout...which is why he gets insanely jealous and territorial if other men so much as look at me.

Sadly enough, I felt lucky that his extramarital activities were just one night stands with fast and lose women he met at random clubs and bars. Most of the other wives in our circle were having to compete with full time mistresses who their husbands showered with affection, time and money.

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_**3rd Person POV**_

The cab dropped him off in front of a large, ornate gate at the end of a long, cobblestone driveway. He stubbed out his cigar on the ground and shoved the remaining portion in his pocket as he slung his large bag over his shoulder. He walked over to the intercom to press the button. It buzzed and a voice came through, "State your name and business."

"Logan Howlett...Vic is expecting me."

There was a quick pause before the disembodied voice came through again, "Come right in."

Logan heard a buzz just before the large gates slowly swung open. As he walked up the long driveway, he passed by a slew of luxury cars. A Mercedes, a BMW and a Porsche Cayenne with the license plate "MARIE 1" were lined up along the front of the house.

He felt out of place here...then again, he always felt out of place in Victor's world.

Logan and Victor grew up together in the same foster home with the same, abusive foster dad. They ran away together, became juvenile delinquents together and survived together. When they reached adulthood, it was Victor's ability to mix with certain crowds that made him successful. Some dirty work here, an under-the-table loan there, and before he knew it, his older "brother" was the manager at one of the hottest clubs in town. Just a couple of years later, the club's owner, Sam, died in a "car accident" that Victor mysteriously witnessed. He never felt right about all the dirty work Vic seemed so comfortable with, but guys who come from the same background as them have to do some pretty sketchy things to get ahead in life.

A couple of Sam's cronies attacked Victor at the club after hours. They beat him up pretty bad, but just when they were about to toss him in the trunk of their car to drive him to an undisclosed location and "finish the job", Logan showed up and started fighting them off. Victor was able to injure one of the men with a knife he had stashed in his boot, effectively scaring him away while Logan fought the other guy. He soon got the upper hand and threw him to the ground, punching him in the face one good time and making his head violently snap backwards against the pavement.

Logan immediately knew something was wrong when the man's body went completely limp beneath him. He killed him...it was an accident. He never meant to. He never even wanted to really hurt him. He was just trying to protect his brother...but he ended up killing a man with his bare hands.

Victor tried to get him to run, but Logan refused and told Victor to make his own getaway. Logan stayed behind, called the cops and confessed to involuntary manslaughter. He took a plea deal and spent four years in prison. Victor kept in contact and visited throughout his time there. Logan knew he got married to some 20 year old waitress from the south. He remembered trying to talk Vic out of it when he called to tell him about her...but once Victor's mind was made up about something, he was going to see it through.

A week before he was released, Victor called to tell him he'd have a job lined up and a place to stay when he got out if he wanted it...so here he was. An ex con at a multimillion dollar mansion mere hours after release.

He rang the doorbell and was greeted by a short maid, dressed in a black and white uniform. Victor came rushing down the large, curved stairwell with his arms open and outstretched, "Look what the fuckin' cat dragged in!"

Logan smiled as he was engulfed with a rough bear hug and slapped on the back, "Sup Vic? You look like shit."

Victor smirked, "And you're an asshole, but who's takin' notes, huh? How you doin'?"

"Well, I just got out of jail...so I'm doin' just peachy. This place is a little...over the top."

Victor slapped Logan in the chest with the back of his hand, "Hey. Go big or go home!"

"So, where's the ball and chain you were tellin' me about?"

"Oh right! I almost forgot you haven't met Marie...MARIE! GET YOUR SEXY ASS IN HERE, I GOT SOMEONE FOR YOU TO MEET!" he yelled toward the second level of the house. Victor turned back to Logan, "She wasn't exactly thrilled when I told her you'd be comin' to stay with us. She's kind of a piece of work, but she's sexy as hell-ah, here she is."

Logan looked up just in time to see her descending the stairs. He had to keep his mouth from dropping open. Either he'd been in jail for far too long, or his brother's new wife was the sexiest woman he'd ever laid eyes on. She was wearing a white bikini beneath a sheer swimsuit cover up with slits up her thighs and a deep v neck that exposed her bra and the upper part of her stomach.

Her voice broke him out of his reverie, "I wish you wouldn't yell like that, Victor. It makes you sound like a damn-" Marie's voice trailed off as she took in all six foot two inches of hulking man that stood before her. Yeah, Victor was hot, but this guy was built like an adonis and had a wildness in his eyes that drew her in. She quickly recovered and cleared her throat, "Who's this?"

Victor put an arm around her, "This is my brother, Logan."

Marie's eyebrows shot skyward, "Oh..._You're_ Logan." She wasn't at all happy that her husband had invited a fresh out of jail, ex-con to stay with them...especially one who was convicted of murder...manslaughter...whatever. She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side, "You don't look that much like a murderer."

Victor suddenly tightened his grip and jerked her slightly as if the warn her to shut her mouth.

Logan crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, "...And you don't look that much like a gold digging waitress."

Victor tried to muffle his chuckle as Marie crossed her arms and glared at Logan, "Pretty quick witted for a guy who just reentered society...just so you know, it's OK if your soap isn't on a rope here."

Logan chuckled as he watched her stomp off in her high heeled shoes. He turned back to Victor and shrugged a little, "Sorry...it's a reflex."

His brother waved him off and put a hand on his back as he led him to the back of the house, "Don't worry about it. Don't dish it out if you can't take it, right? I got you set up in the guest house out back. Go get settled and shower, cause tonight...we're gettin' you the one thing a man just coming out of prison sentence needs..."

"A hot meal that excludes fingernails and hair?"

Victor laughed and slapped Logan's back as the walked past his pool, "Heh...right...I'm hoping you're joking because I plan on making sure you get laid tonight, brother."

Logan got a far off look in his eyes as he envisioned the sexy, yet already frustrating Marie.

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**Tell me what you think of the different POVs being used in this. Do you prefer the first person POV or the 3rd person, omnipresent POV? Let me know! Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I decided to write the remainder of this story in the regular, 3rd person POV because of how difficult it is for me to keep switching back and forth. I found myself actually having a hard time keeping up with it!**

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Marie woke up the next morning to find her husband sprawled across the bed with his clothes still on from the previous night. She rolled her eyes and scooted from beneath his heavy arm before going to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.

She put on her bathrobe and walked downstairs to find that their maid had already begun laying out breakfast. She smiled politely, "Hey Janice, how's your mornin' shapin' up?"

"Can't complain. Sleep well?"

Marie shrugged and plucked a piece of fruit off the platter the maid was putting together, "As well as I could."

Janice poured her a cup of coffee as she sat down at the island and began picking away at her plate.

"Somethin' wrong, hon?" asked Janice.

Marie smiled at the woman who had become her only true friend since she married Victor. All the other rich wives in their circle were shallow, back stabbing bitches with nothing better to do with their time than get needless cosmetic procedures.

"I'm just...I'm fine."

Janice crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, "I don't quite believe you."

"You shouldn't. I'm a terrible liar."

The maid laughed, "That just means you've got a pure heart. Don't take it the wrong way."

"I'm fine, really. So...have you met our colorful new houseguest, Jan?"

Janice laughed, "Oh yeah...I saw 'em."

Marie raised a brow, "What's the giggle for?"

Janice began moving around the kitchen in an effort to busy herself, "What giggle?"

"Ooooh...Janice has a cruuuuush!"

The two shared a laugh and jumped when Logan's voice suddenly sounded in the kitchen, "Am I interrupting girl time?"

Janice cleared her throat and picked up a tray of breakfast, "I should go get this to Mr. Creed."

When Janice was gone, Logan casually strolled into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee, "I didn't take you for the type of chick who'd hang out with the help."

She rolled her eyes, "There's a lot you don't know about me...oh, and thanks for keeping my husband out until four in the damned morning. He'll be in a terrific mood for his 10 am meeting."

"Well, for your information, I wasn't the one who wanted to stay out..."

Marie's jaw clenched as she set her cup down and muttered, "Of course you weren't..."

Logan immediately got the distinct feeling he had gotten Victor in trouble. He did wonder why in the world a guy would want to hang` out all night when he had a wife as hot as her at home waiting for him.

"He was just trying to show me a good time...it's the first time I'd been out in a few years."

She stood and tightened her robe, "Look, Logan...I appreciate you trying to cover for your brother, but it's his own responsibility. He needs to learn a little self control."

"Well whatever his hang ups, they don't seem to bother you that much...you look pretty comfy in this big house."

Marie blinked and threw up her hands, "What do you have? Like asshole-Tourrette's? Can't go five minutes without saying something completely offensive?"

"Sorry, darlin', but I'm not buyin' this whole 'I really do love him despite the fact that he's a millionaire who plucked me outta poverty' deal. It sounds a little too convenient."

She glared, "You don't know shit."

"He may not be the nicest guy in the world, but he's my brother and I don't know about you just yet."

Marie took a challenging step forward, "Oh yeah? Well he knows about me just fine...and he has for a few years now. I could honestly care less what a murderer thinks about me."

Logan watched as she left. He didn't want to admit it, but being called a murderer hurt him pretty bad. He hated that he had taken a life...even if it was in defense of a loved one.

A few seconds later, Marie passed Janice in the hallway leading to her bedroom, "Is he awake?"

Janice clasped her hands in front of her apron, "Depends on how you define that word."

Marie rolled her eyes, thanked Janice and proceeded into her dimly lit bedroom. She walked around the room, opening the drapes in an effort to rouse her half-conscious husband.

She couldn't keep count of how many of her days started with her literally having to peel her hungover husband out of bed, force him to drink some coffee, pick out his clothes and get him off to meetings. It pissed her off that Logan assumed she was a "kept" woman who did nothing more than spread her legs.

She kept up with his schedule, made sure he wasn't late to his meetings, organized the household and nursed him through hang overs.

Now she stood in front of her grown husband, undressing him as he rubbed his eyes and groaned. She started the shower and pushed him in, "Hurry up, the car will be here to pick you up in twenty minutes."

"Yeah yeah..."

When he got out of the shower and dried off, she handed him his coffee, "Tick tock, Vic."

He smirked, set his coffee down on the sink and kissed her neck as his arms snaked around her waist. He untied her bathrobe and opened it.

Marie tried to shrug off his intentions, but the hardening erection that was pressing against her ass made her realize that he was raring to go this morning, despite his still slightly inebriated state.

"Victor...not now."

He lazily kissed her ear and pulled her panties down, "C'mon...won't take that long."

She rolled her eyes. Of course it wouldn't.

"I'm surprised you even want to...seein' as how you were probably with one of your no name blondes last night..."

Victor turned her around and picked her up to set her on the edge of the sink as he dropped his towel. He pulled her panties all the way off and stepped between her legs as she stared up into his eyes, "You know you mean the world to me...don't ya?"

Marie shook her head and looked away, but he grabbed her face and turned it back to him, forcing her to look him in the eyes, "Marie...I keep tellin' you you're it..." He grunted as he pushed himself inside of her. It took him a second to be able to speak as he looked back into her eyes and whispered, "I'm never gonna let you go...you're mine baby...nothin's gonna change that."

Dammit...this was her achilles heel. She hated that he cheated constantly, but it definitely did something to her when talked like this. It turned her on. The evidence of that was clear now that all four of her limbs were wrapped around her husband as he fucked her on their bathroom counter.

This was a prime, orgasm inducing position. He connected his lips with her neck and sucked, causing her to moan and scratch at his back as he grabbed her ass and began fucking her harder.

Soon, Marie was throwing her head back and crying out his name as he spilled himself inside of her.

She all but collapsed backwards against the mirror as he kissed her neck, pulled from her and walked into their bedroom to get dressed. Ten minutes later, she followed him out of their bedroom, fully dressed and in a slightly better mood as before.

"What's your brother going to do while you're at your meeting?"

Victor shrugged, "I'll be right back. He'll just hang around the house."

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and left. Marie went out to the backyard to check on the dogs. Besides the fact that they were guard dogs, they were her beloved pets...much to Victor's chagrin.

She rubbed the bellies and cuddled with dogs that were trained to kill and her husband hated it. He claimed it compromised their ability to do what they were trained for. She just figured building a close relationship with the animals might make them want to protect her even more.

"Doosie! Lady! Come 'ere babies!"

The large dogs happily trotted over to her and were rewarded with turkey bacon. They bounded over each other as she played with them and scratched their ears. They took a walk across the grounds, then returned to the main house.

Marie started to walk past the bank of windows that lead into the gym located on the side of the house, but the vision of Logan working out topless stopped her.

Her mouth dropped open as she watched him doing perfect chin-ups on a metal bar. His form was impeccable...he actually made it look easy. Every muscle in his large arms and broad back rippled as he continued exercising...three...four...five...six...

Before Marie knew it, she had watched him do forty. He dropped to his feet on the floor and cracked his neck before grabbing a towel and wiping the sweat from his perfect chest.

Jail had done his body VERY good...

She froze as he turned and met her eyes. They stared at each other for a while before he smirked and made his pronounced pectoral muscles jump as he wriggled his eyebrows.

Marie gave him the finger, glared and walked away, but Logan jogged over to the door and opened it, eliciting a violent warning growl from both of the dobermans accompanying her.

He jumped back slightly and held his arms up, "Whoa...mind callin' off your attack dogs?"

She raised a brow, "Well...they do smell fresh meat."

"You seemed to like it too...you in heat or somethin'?"

Marie's mouth dropped open a little, "You really are a fuckin' piece of work."

"You should know...you're the one with drool on your chin."

She crossed her arms and glanced down at the dogs, "Relax."

Logan was surprised when they suddenly stopped baring their teeth and took a seat on either side of her, "Wow...you got Vic trained like that too?"

Marie narrowed her eyes, "Not yet. Your breed is particularly hard to housebreak."

"You're feisty. I like it."

She sighed, "My feistiness isn't for you to like."

Logan watched her ass as she walked away. Damn, she was a tempting little thing.

He knew how much of a jealous bastard his brother could be, and wouldn't be surprised if a few men in New York were walking on crutches because they'd had the audacity to look in his pretty young wife's direction.

* * *

Throughout the next few weeks, Victor took Logan to meetings, where they discussed opening clubs in Las Vegas and Los Angeles with investors and business partners. His club, named 'The Den', was already a New York City success and A-list hot spot, but, like all hot spots, it needed to expand.

One of his partners piped up, "Opening a club in Nevada and California will take up a lot of time, Victor. We all know how involved you are with the day-to-day operations at the New York site. Are you sure you're willing to leave the club unsupervised for that long?"

He walked over to Logan and slapped him on the back, "I want you all to meet my brother, Logan. He'll be filling in for me."

Victor also took him to a few other meetings with his "crew", as he called them. They were basically the guys who did his dirtiest work for him and protected his interests. There, Logan was introduced as his "General" and right hand man.

One of Victor's cronies, Tony, didn't seem to like that very much since he'd been taking care of all of Victor's business for the past four years, but Logan was sure the prick would get over it.

After hearing a couple of things concerning drugs and busting the knee caps of a smart ass that started a fight in the club the previous week, Logan was slightly bothered by just how shady Victor's business dealings had gotten. Drugs, violence and bribery all seemed to be regular happenings in the daily operations of "The Den" and, in all honesty, it made Logan scared for Victor.  


* * *

Marie stood in the doorway of their closet, watching as her husband packed, "I don't like this, Victor. Six weeks is a long time...too long."

"You'll be fine", he said, barely sparing her a glance.

"What if I came with you?"

He shook his head, "You think you're bored and lonely here, wait til we're in a strange city and all I have time to do is work...not gonna happen, doll."

She crossed her arms, "Why do you shut me out, Vic? Why won't you just let me be close to you?"

Victor rolled his eyes, "You're my wife. You ARE close to me, Marie. Just because I wanna be able to get these club openings done quickly and without the distraction of my wife, doesn't mean I don't want you close, OK? The sooner I get these locations open, the faster I'll be able to get you that apartment in Paris...I know you love it there...I can get you more diamonds-"

She cut him off by holding up a hand, "Keep your wallet in your pants, Creed. I didn't ask you for any of that stuff. I married you because I wanted YOU...not a big diamond, a fancy house or even an apartment in Paris...I want your love and respect. I want to be near you...and for some reason, that, of all things, is too much to ask."

He stared into her eyes and, for a moment, she thought she might have gotten through to him.

Victor suddenly cleared his throat and shook his head, "I'll be back before you know it."

Marie threw her arms up and stomped from the room.

Soon, he heard the front door of the mansion slam and the sound of her souped up Porsche engine start. That was when he fist met the wall.

When he'd had a chance to calm down and ice his hand, he called the guest house and asked Logan to come up to his room.

Logan walked in to find Victor wrapping his hand in gauze, "You OK?"

Victor nodded and clenched his teeth, "Uh...yeah. Fine. I know I'm throwin' a lot of shit in your lap during this trip, but I need to maybe...redistribute some of those other duties so you can concentrate on something really important."

"Sure. What's up?"

"I need you to keep an eye on Marie."

Logan scoffed, "Wait...why? Is it because you think someone you have a grudge with will hurt her?"

Victor nodded, "That's a real danger, yeah, but...you know women. She's vulnerable...feeling neglected. I don't want her to do anything she'll regret later...if you know what I mean."

"Soooo...you want me to babysit your wife?"

Victor rubbed his forehead, "Look...I may not bother to show it, but I'm well aware that my wife is a fuckin' knockout. She's smart, sexy and she's barely in her mid twenties. Some men would kill to have her...I know I'd kill to keep her. I just need you to keep an eye on her. Make sure some smooth talking asshole doesn't try to sweep her off her feet."

"If she's so important to you...why do you keep fuckin' around on her?"

Victor smirked, "We're men, Logan. Monogamy is merely a suggestion to us."

Logan sucked his teeth and rubbed the back of his head, "Gah...fine...I'll keep an eye on her."  


* * *

The next night, Logan rode with Marie and Victor in the limo to the airport to say goodbye to him. He watched discretely as the couple said their goodbyes...

Marie stood in front of her husband with her arms crossed as she did her best to keep from looking at him as he tried to force her to look into his eyes.

Victor put his hands on her hips and dipped his head down in an attempt to get a better look at her face, "Come on baby...you know you're gonna miss me...I'll bring you back a souvenir..."

"What?" she murmured as she continued avoiding his gaze.

He had spent the whole night thinking about how he could make it better...how he could fix it and keep her from leaving him. It was nearly 3 in the morning when he finally figured it out...

"How about...me?" She finally looked up into his eyes with confusion etched across her face as he continued, "...only smaller...maybe a little cuter..."

Marie furrowed her eyebrows, "What are you sayin'?"

"A baby!" he exclaimed. Just at that moment, Logan choked on his cigar smoke as he stood on the curb next to the limo. Victor spared him an annoyed glance, then turned back to his wife for a reaction.

She quickly pulled out of his grasp, "A baby? Are you kidding me?"

"No! I'm not! You're surprised, aren't you?"

Before she could properly berate him for his terrible idea, the last call for his flight sounded over the outdoor loud speaker. He kissed her quickly, "I'll call you when I land. We'll talk more later."

As she watched her husband rush away, her eyes fell upon a smirking Logan, who stubbed out his cigar and climbed back into the limo.

How could he think bringing a child into their horribly dysfunctional situation would help anything? The sheer mention of the idea not only deeply offended her, but reminded her how deluded Victor truly was concerning the state of their relationship.  


* * *

The next morning, Marie climbed into her car and started to pull out of the driveway. She screamed and slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting Logan, who was calmly standing in the path of her oncoming vehicle.

He walked around her car and got into the passenger side, "Where we goin'?"

"Just what the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Logan put his seatbelt on and sighed, "Look, I told Vic I would keep an eye on you til he gets back. It's not gonna be a picnic for either one of us, but let's just try our hardest not to kill each other, mmkay?"

Marie narrowed her eyes, "Are you kidding me with this?"

"Trust me, kid. I wish I was."

"Ugh, Christ...this is a nightmare..." She watched as he chuckled and reclined in his seat. She snapped at him as they pulled out of the driveway, "...and don't call me 'kid'."

They drove in silence for several moments before he finally grumbled, "Where are we goin'? Shopping? The spa? The salon?...something else that ridiculously rich trophy wives do when they have an ass load of time on their hands?"

Marie shook her head and sighed, "You really think you got me figured out, don't you?"

"I know I do," He furrowed his eyebrows as he watched a smirk spread across her lips, "What's that look for?"

"Nothing...it's just that, you...of all people, sit there on your high horse, trying to judge ME...it's just funny."

"Let's just get this outta the way...I am not a common killer. I never meant to..."

Marie glanced over at him as his voice trailed off and his eyes fell to his lap. She felt kind of bad, so she spoke up, "I'm sorry. Victor told me it was an accident...and he told me he wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for you and...what happened."

Logan looked up and raised a brow. He'd obviously regained his confidence when he spoke, "So why do you keep treating me like a felon?"

"Because you keep treating my like a gold digging opportunist."

"Does the shoe fit?"

She pulled into a hospital and parked, "I don't know...you tell me."

He didn't know what she meant by that.

A few minutes later, they were walking into the children's ward of the hospital. Logan trailed behind, his face in a state of paranoid confusion. He didn't know why, but he always hated doctors and hospitals.

When Marie stepped up to the nurse's station, the woman working there immediately recognized her, "Hey Marie, how's it goin'?"

Marie smiled back as she signed a sign-in sheet on the clipboard, "Good, sorry I'm late today, Jean."

"No problem...who's your friend?"

Logan smiled at the flirtatious twinkle in the woman's eye. He always did appreciate a woman in uniform...

Marie stuttered a little, "Uh...this is Logan, my brother-in-law. He's just moved back to town and was looking for some volunteering opportunities. Would it be a problem if he shadowed me today?"

Jean shook her head and smiled giddily at Logan, "No, not at all...he'll need to sign in and give me his name...and some other information..."

He stepped forward and clicked the pen, "That shouldn't be a problem at all..."

Marie rolled her eyes. After a few moments of shameless flirting, she finally drug Logan away from the flirtatious nurse.

"What are we doing here?"

She shrugged, "You have me figured out...you tell me."

He didn't have time to say anymore. She quickly opened the door to a room and walked into a room where a sweet eyed, bald little boy sat, picking over his breakfast. The little boy lit up as soon as he saw Marie walk in, "Marie!"

Marie hugged the little boy and sat beside him, "Hey Angel, how are you feelin' this mornin'?"

The little boy Marie called Angel shrugged and pushed the oatmeal around his bowl with his spoon, "They keep trying to make me eat this muck."

"Aww now...you know it's good for you. It'll help you get better and you promised me you'd get better fast, remember?"

Angel nodded and sighed before taking a couple of spoonfuls and glancing in Logan's direction, "Who are you?"

Logan, who was still in shock at how incorrect his assumptions about Marie might be, only stuttered in response, "Uh...I'm...uh..."

Marie rolled her eyes in his direction and cut him off, "He's just not used to being around such a cool guy. He's lame like that."

Angel giggled a little, finally giving Logan the courage to step forward, "I'm Logan...what kind of a name is Angel anyways?"

"My name's actually Warren. Marie's the only one who calls me Angel."

She smiled and gently patted the little boy's shoulder, "That's because he's got the face of an angel. He's gonna break a lot hearts when he grows up, aren't ya?"

Angel blushed a little, "I'm going to marry Marie."

Marie laughed softly, "I don't think my husband would like that very much...but I tell you what...you get out of here, I'll take you out on a date to the amusement park, OK?"

Angel nodded and smiled widely.

Logan sat in the corner of the room while Marie convinced Angel to eat his breakfast. After leaving Angel's room, Logan followed her to a library. She read a few stories to a group of sick children as one of the younger little girls sat on her lap.

He glanced down at a little girl pouting in the corner and squatted down beside her, "Hey...you don't wanna listen to the stories, kiddo?"

The girl shrugged, "The bigger kids are sitting down front...I can't see Marie."

Logan cleared his throat and held out his hands for the girl, "Consider me your own personal opera box...best seat in the house."

The kid smiled widely and eagerly reached up for Logan, who picked her up, giving her a vantage point over the entire room.

Marie glanced up just in time to see Logan standing there with the girl in his arms. She stuttered slightly as their eyes connected, but looked away and continued the story.

When they were getting ready to leave, he was watching Marie down the hallway as she said goodbye to some nurses when he saw a handsome doctor walk over to her.

The guy looked like he'd stepped straight out of catalog with his perfect, bleached white teeth, blue eyes and perfectly styled hair. As soon as he saw the way the young doctor looked at Marie, he decided he should probably find out who the hell he was.

They were in mid conversation when Logan rudely interjected, "Ready to go?"

Marie tensed slightly, but tried to play it off by politely introducing them, "Logan...this is Dr. Scott Summers...he's the Pediatric Chief Resident. Dr. Summers, this is my brother-in-law, Logan."

Dr. Summers nodded, but didn't extend his hand for a hand shake, "Oh...hello."

"Hi."

Marie rocked on her heels a bit at the awkwardness of the introduction, then suddenly clapped her hands, "OK...So, I guess we should go..."

Logan nodded and turned to walk away, "Alright."

He glanced back just in time to see Scott put a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Take care, Marie."

She smiled back flirtatiously, "You too, Scott."

They were back in the car, halfway back to the house when he finally spoke, "So what's the deal with you and Dr. Feel Good?"

Marie scoffed, "What do you mean?"

"He looks at you like he's seen you naked."

She couldn't stop herself from laughing, "Are you serious? Scott?"

Logan grumbled, "I think the volunteering is really nice and not at all what I expected someone like you to do...but the hot doctor...I think I know why you like to hang around after story time."

* * *

**Please review everyone! I need feedback! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to my early reviewers. I know Logan's kind of a jerk in this so far, but I promise he'll get better! Read on! **

* * *

Day two of "Marie Watch", as Logan called it, was off to a rocky start. She'd been acting weird since breakfast.

He asked her what she had planned for the day and told him "nothing", but Logan knew she was lying, so he ended up having to watch her everywhere she went. Some time during the afternoon, she claimed she was going to go for a jog, but actually hopped in her car and peeled away.

Logan ran out of the house and yelled at the security guard, "Ah shit...which way did she go?"

The security guard pointed down the street as Logan ran back to the BMW in the driveway. He got in and sped off after her. He spotted her just as she got on the highway.

He tailed her all the way to her destination, which happened to be in the city. He parked directly behind her as she got out of the car with an armful of books and a tote bag.

Just before she was about to cross the street, he smirked, "Trying to make a getaway?"

Marie spun around with widened eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"I told you. Victor asked me to look after you and that's what I'm gonna do." He glanced up at the building, then looked back at her, "What are you doing here anyways?"

She bit her bottom lip, "Please don't tell Victor..."

"So you ARE fucking the doctor! Is this where he lives?"

Marie shook her head quickly, "No! God! Just cause your brother can't keep it in his pants doesn't mean I can't..."

"Then what am I not telling Victor?"

She sighed and pointed to the sign posted near the door of the building across the street reading 'NYU' as she muttered, "I'm taking classes part time...I just started last semester."

Logan laughed, "Why would you want to keep that from him? Finishing school sounds like a great thing."

"He didn't want me going back...so technically, I'm disobeying a direct order."

He raised both eyebrows. He really didn't like that his brother was so controlling over her, "Oh...ok. I won't tell him...but I'll be waiting here when you get out of class. Don't try to run away again."

Marie breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him before rushing off to her class.

As Logan waited for her to come out of the building, he began to realize just how wrong he was about her. By the time she got out of class, he had decided to delve a little deeper into the psyche of this intensely attractive, unique woman.

"Wow...you're still here."

He nodded, "Told you I would be."

"Right", she snorted.

Logan glanced at his watch, "It's almost dinner time...you hungry?"

The statement was simple and to-the-point, but it was the most polite thing he'd said to her thus far. Marie nodded and blinked, "Uhh...yeah."

About an hour later, they were sitting in a restaurant. She sipped on wine as he nursed a beer. After a long period of silence, he set his beer down, "So...why are you going back to school? You don't need to work..."

She narrowed her eyes, set her wine glass down and crossed her arms, "You wanna know about me? Honestly? No smart ass comments, no pretenses...just the real me?"

Logan nodded, "Yep."

Marie let out a breath, clearly relieved that they had the chance to start fresh, "Alright...you wanna know the truth...I want to go back to school because I never wanted to be a kept woman. I never planned on marrying a rich guy and spending my days laying beside a pool in designer bikinis. My hopes and dreams include more than just being Mrs. Creed. Victor knows that...that's why he hates the idea of me having a passion for something else other than him."

"Vic was always a jealous guy...but I've definitely never seen him so controlling before and I definitely never heard him talk about having kids. You must be special to him."

She took a deep sip of her wine, "Victor doesn't want kids. He just thinks it's a way to keep me content."

"Is it?"

When she laughed, he couldn't help but smile. The sound was sweet, soft and melodic...and the way her eyes sparkled as she tossed her hair made her look like she was modeling for some unseen photographer. As her gentle laughter died down, she shook her head, "Certainly not. I'm only 24. How could I be ready to have kids?"

"And Vic is pushing 40...men have biological clocks too, ya know."

Marie nodded, "Yeah. I know, but your brother isn't the fathering type. Even if he was, he knew how old I was when we met and he knew I wouldn't be into that kind of thing for a while. Besides...I don't think I'd bring a child into this..."

Logan sat forward, "You both seem pretty happy."

She crossed an arm over her stomach and took another sip of her wine, "Of course Victor's happy. I would be too if I hadn't stopped dating after I took my marriage vows."

He laughed a little and sat his beer down, "You're not really turning out to be what I thought you were."

Marie blinked, "Whoa..."

"What?"

"You admitted you were wrong...did ya hurt yourself there?"

Logan chuckled as he brought the beer to his mouth, "You're such a smart ass."

She laughed softly, "Ah...you'll learn to love it."

He got a far away look in his eyes as he watched her glance out the window and sip her wine. Maybe he could learn to love it...

After they finished eating, they returned to the mansion in their separate vehicles. Before they walked into the house, Marie smiled at Logan, "Thanks...for keepin' my little secret."

He nodded and shrugged, "Just try not to run away, OK?"

"Alright...but I still hate that I have to have a babysitter."

He smirked, "Me too, darlin'...but hey, we're all makin' our sacrifices here."

Marie sighed, "Tell me about it...night Logan."

She gently hit him in the arm before climbing the stairs of the front porch and going in. He stared after her for several moments longer than he should have before taking his cigar out of his pocket and lighting it up.

Meanwhile, Tony stood just outside of the security box at the end of the driveway, watching the whole exchange.

* * *

The next few days passed without incident. They didn't hate each other nearly as much as they did at the beginning, so it was easier for Logan to carry the burden of babysitting her in peaceful silence.

During one morning in particular, Marie was scheduled to get her hair done at her bi-monthly salon appointment. Logan drove and parked the car just in front of the salon. When she stepped out of the other side, she was busily digging through her bag.

"Something wrong?" he asked as she grumbled and continued rummaging through her giant designer purse.

"I can't find my damn phone...I thought I just had it."

He shoved his hands in his pockets as he started walking to a bar down the block to wait through her hair appointment.

As he walked, he looked down the street just in time to spot a black sedan round the corner. He halted his stride when the vehicle slowed substantially once it turned onto the street.

A sinking feeling immediately invaded his gut as the car started toward him. When it suddenly began speeding down the street toward the salon, he turned back around and began running back toward Marie, who was still looking through her purse.

"Marie!" he screamed, causing her head to snap up.

He reached her just before the first shot rang out.

Logan heard her scream as he tackled her to the ground in an effort to remove her from the line of fire. After tumbling to the concrete, he laid on top of her to shield her as bullets flew and glass shattered around them.

He covered her body with his and kept his hands over her head until he heard tires peel away.

Logan slowly raised his head to look at her as she trembled beneath him. Her fingers had gripped onto his shirt so tight, her nails were digging into his skin. He rolled halfway off of her and stroked her face as he checked her over for injury, "Are you OK?" She just trembled and whimpered, so he stroked her face again and looked into her eyes, "Marie...darlin'...look at me. Are you OK? Were you hit?"

"I-I-I dunno..."

Logan quickly ran his hands over her body and breathed a sigh of relief before bringing his hand back to her face to cup her cheek and stroke her face with his thumb, "You're OK...you're OK..." They looked into each others eyes for several moments as he continued stroking her face and whispering, "You're OK..."

He sat her up as she slowly regained her bearings and ability to speak. In the meantime, people had begun venturing out of the stores, bars and salons lining the streets. Marie gasped as she noticed a spot of blood on his bicep, "Oh god! You're hit!"

"What?" he said as he looked at his arm. He examined the wound and shook his head, "Just a graze. I'm fine...we should get goin' before the cops come."

She nodded in agreement as he helped her to her feet and guided her to the car. Thirty minutes later, he was sitting on her bed, removing his shirt as she returned from the bathroom with a First Aid kit. Her hands had finally stopped shaking and she had insisted on helping with his wound.

"How did you not notice this?" she asked as she looked at the wound.

He shrugged a little, "I've always had a pretty high threshold for pain."

Marie pursed her lips as she gently cleaned his wound. The sight of his bare upper body was almost as distracting as the realization that someone had just tried to kill her.

"I think your arm will be sore for a few days, but it's not too bad..."

He waved her off, "I'm a fast healer. I'll be fine."

After several silent moments of cleaning and ointments, she bandaged his large, muscular arm, "Thank you...I...don't even know what to say...you saved my life."

Logan cleared his throat, "All in a day's work for a babysitter."

As the soft laugh they shared died down, they looked into each other's eyes. Before Logan could lose himself in her beautiful eyes, he stood and pulled his shirt back on, "You should call Victor. He'd want to hear what happened from you."

She nodded, "Right...right."

He got up and began walking out. Right when he got to the door, she called his name, "Logan..."

He was afraid that if he turned around to look at her, he'd throw her down against her bed and make her forget her own name, so he didn't look at her, he just turned his head slightly, "Yeah?"

"Thanks again...I owe you my life."

Logan nodded before opening the door and leaving. As he made his way back to the guest house, Marie got on the phone to call her husband.

After three rings, a woman's voice picked up, "Hello?" Marie was at a complete loss for words, so the woman on the other end spoke again, "Helloooo? Is someone there?"

"Uhm...yes. Is Victor around?"

The woman's voice got a bit defensive, "...and who should I say is calling?"

"His wife."

The woman stammered, "His w-wi-"

"Don't worry about it sweetie. I'm sure you'll find your very own millionaire to marry one day. Now be a good little girl and put my husband on the fucking phone."

The woman put down the phone, allowing Marie to listen in on the happenings of the room. She heard the lady open a door and was immediately greeted with the sound of running water, "You're married? Fuckin' asshole!"

There was commotion, cursing, stammering and a door slamming. Victor's dread-filled voice was suddenly on the phone, "Hey hon..."

"Heya scum bag...was it good?"

He sighed, "Don't be like that, baby."

"Don't be like what? An angry wife who calls her husband to tell him she had a near death experience today only to have to talk to his fucking flavor of the week?"

"Wait...you had a near death experience? Where's Logan?"

She rolled her eyes at his concern, "He saved my life. Your brother saved your wife's while you were off fucking some cheap whore!"

Victor stuttered into the phone, "B-baby-", but it was too late. She'd already hung up on him. He immediately called Logan, who picked up on the second ring, "Yello?"

"Logan! What the fuck happened? Marie just told me she almost died and you saved her life?"

Logan rubbed the back of his head, "Ah...it wasn't that big a deal..."

"Did you get a look at the perps?"

"They were in a car. It was a black late model BMW with tinted windows, so I didn't see anyone. No tags...there's a million like 'em in the tri-state area alone, probably."

Logan heard his brother punch something, "This is bad...they were bold enough to try to kill her in broad daylight, there's no telling what else they'd do..." There was a long moment of silence before Victor spoke again, "Listen...I'm gonna have the crew do some foot work to see if they can find out who was behind this, but I need you to get her out of town."

"Get her out of town? I don't think that's gonna be easy."

"I don't give a fuck if it's harder than a porn star's dick. I want her somewhere safe, now."

Logan sighed, "Alright...where do I take her?"

"Aspen. I have a condo there that no one really knows about, so she should be safe there."

After jotting down some information and booking their plane tickets, Logan stopped to wonder why his brother didn't bother to come home to be with his nearly assassinated wife.  


* * *

"Marie...you'll be safer there. Come on...could you please just start packing? The plane leaves in four hours."

She threw her hands up, "What about school? What about the hospital?"

"I don't know, but I do know that you'll end up in a hospital if we don't go." Marie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Logan softened his voice and took a few steps closer to her, "Look, kid...I don't know who these people who tried to kill you are, but the fact that they tried to do the job in broad daylight says two things. One: they're bold and they are willing to go to some pretty great lengths to ensure you're dead. Two: they're not gonna stop...Victor says he wants you safe-"

"Victor...heh...right. He cares sooooo much about me."

"Marie...he does care."

She started to say something, but she just shook her head and walked to the closet and began packing.

"Atta girl..." he said quietly as he noticed a couple of tears form in her eyes while she packed.

Five hours later, they were somewhere over the mid US and Marie was ordering four miniature bottles of scotch with a tall glass and no ice. Logan quirked a brow and stared her down for a few moments, "You get nervous flying?"

She took a deep swig of her drink, "I'm gonna to leave him."

Logan's eyebrows shot up, "Oh...kay...elaborate..."

"He's an asshole", she muttered as she took another sip.

Logan nodded, "Again...elaborate..."

"So, I call to tell him that I almost died and you saved my life and blah blah blah...and guess what?"

"What?"

"A bitch answered his phone."

Logan cringed slightly. What the fuck was Victor thinking allowing other women to answer his phone? Major party foul.

"Shit..."

Marie nodded, "Exactly...so I'm dodging bullets because I'm married to a man who can't even stop fucking other women...what's the point, right?"

He sighed and took one of the bottles of scotch, "Maybe you should sleep on it, then think about it...while sober."

She rolled her eyes, "Ever the dutiful brother..."

Logan laughed a little and nodded, "And brother-in-law."

"You're my super hero."

He smirked, "Right. Next time I'll wear my full body leather suit."

Marie giggled, "I don't think you'd look half bad in a full body leather suit."

Logan raised a brow at that comment. Was she flirting with him? He couldn't tell.

* * *

**Review please readers! I know a lot of you are adding this to your alerts/favorites, but I live off of applause like Tinkerbell, so I need reviews/feedback! (Yes, I'm a Glee fan!) LOL. **


	4. Chapter 4

When they got to the luxurious condo in the snow covered mountains of Aspen, Marie immediately went to bed. The next morning, he was fixing breakfast when she walked into the kitchen with a headache and dark sunglasses on to shield her eyes from the sun.

"Morning", he said brightly.

"Yeah...somethin' like that", she murmured as she plopped into a chair beside the island. "How much did I drink on the plane?"

"Enough for both of us, that's for damn sure."

She rubbed her head and sighed, "Never again...never ever again."

"Yeah...that's what we all say." He set a plate of food in front of her, "Eat up."

She did so reluctantly as he cleaned up and ate a little something himself.

When they finished, he clapped his hands together, "So, what do you want to do today?"

"I thought I was locked in a safe house."

He nodded, "You are, but no one knows us here. You can go skiing, snowboarding...whatever."

Marie laughed, "I'm not really in the mood to do anything adventurous."

Logan sighed. He knew she was still reeling from nearly getting killed...and talking to her husband's potential mistress, so he was trying to cheer her up and take her mind off of everything.

"OK, no skiing...how about shopping?"

Marie blinked, "You...want to take me shopping?"

Almost as soon as he heard her repeat the word "shopping", he regretted suggesting it. She nodded happily and disappeared into her room. Moments later, she reemerged dressed and ready to go.

He trailed behind her as she perused shops and spent some money here and there. She wasn't nearly as frivolous as he thought she would have been.

Marie purchased some clothes, then went to a dress shop, where he waited outside of her dressing room in a chair.

He heard her groan and curse, "Shit...Logan? Can you help me?"

Logan raised a brow and glanced toward the dressing room door, "Sure...what's up?"

The door suddenly opened, "The zipper's stuck...bad. If I ask the sales lady to take it off, she'll probably break it on purpose to make me buy it."

He cleared his throat and stood, "Uhm...OK."

Logan entered the small dressing room and stood before Marie, who was in a tiny, sateen, strapless cocktail dress. She turned around to reveal a half pulled down zipper against her bare back.

Holy giant balls on a Great Dane...she wasn't wearing a bra.

She turned her head to the side, "You OK?"

"Uh...yeah. Just trying to figure out a plan of attack", he murmured with a dry laugh.

He reached for the zipper with trembling hands and slowly began jiggling it. After several tries, it finally gave way and he relished the opportunity to slowly slide it all the way down, revealing the top of her black lace underwear.

Marie looked over her shoulder and smiled shyly, "Thanks..."

"Anytime..."

A sudden knock on the door made them jump. The saleswoman's voice came through the door, "Is everything alright in there?"

"Yes. Thank you."

The saleswoman lowered her voice and leaned into the door, "Um...I'm just going to warn you, my manager doesn't typically allow men in dressing rooms with their wives..."

Logan chuckled and shook his head as Marie blushed heavily, "OK...thank you very much."

A few minutes later, they were walking up the street back to where they parked the car, but Marie stopped. He rolled his eyes, "Not another store, Jesus!"

"Yes another store, but not for me...for you."

He didn't even have time to respond before she yanked him into a high-end men's store. Marie smiled at the salesman that approached, "Hi...my brother-in-law here needs some shirts and some slacks, a suit and maybe a coat."

Logan groaned under his breath a little, "Marie..."

"The plaid, lumberjack shirts are just NOT going to work if you ever plan on getting laid again."

Logan raised an eyebrow, "So this is your idea of a sex-tervention?"

"Something like that..."

Ten minutes later, Marie paced outside of his dressing room as he grumbled, "Uh...I don't think this suit thing is going to work."

"Just put on the jacket and give it a chance."

"I don't know..."

He jumped slightly when the door to his dressing room suddenly snatched open. She stepped in and closed the door behind her as she looked him up and down, "The jacket is a little tight. What size is it?"

She began running her hands over his shoulders as he tried to keep from squirming in delight beneath her touch. She let out a breath as she gripped his uninjured bicep, making him furrow his eyebrows in confusion, "What?"

"Nothing...they're just...big, that's all..."

Logan had to concentrate to make sure he didn't blush. She suddenly reached behind his neck to check the tag on his jacket. When the breath he let out caressed her cheek, she realized just how close they were and froze as she looked him in the eyes.

He'd never wanted to touch anyone more than he wanted to touch her at that moment.

Suddenly, all thoughts ceased to exist as he felt a pair of the softest, sweetest lips he'd ever tasted connect with his own. Instinct took over as he grabbed her waist and pushed her against the wall. His tongue brushed across her lips, begging for access as her hands made their way from their resting spot on his arms to grasp his face to hers.

He moaned into her mouth as the kiss grew deeper and hungrier. Logan's eyes popped open when he suddenly realized what he was doing. He quickly broke away from her and shook his head, panting at the sheer power of his desire for her, "Sorry...sorry."

She touched her lips and whispered, "Oh god."

Logan shook his head again, "It's OK, Marie...you're still tryin' to deal with nearly gettin' shot and you're mad at Vic...and it's been forever since I've even touched a woman...so this was just a...a surge of hormones."

Marie started to shake her head no and tell him he was wrong and that she actually wanted him, but instead, she nodded in agreement and let out a nervous laugh before exiting the room.

That night, they decided to put the dressing room incident behind them and just make the best of their time in Aspen.

As they sat on the floor by the fire after dinner, Marie sighed, "You're very different than him, you know that?"

"How so?"

She wrapped the blanket tighter around her and shrugged, "Despite the fact that, initially, you acted like a complete jack ass toward me...you seem to have a...a better heart than him."

Logan shifted uncomfortably and shrugged, "I'm not better than him."

"But you are. You've got a moral compass at least. You're genuine and you don't bull shit...you don't seem like you'd cheat on your wife..."

"Who knows what I'd do being married? I've never taken that plunge before."

Marie smiled, "You don't like the idea that you might be better than him?"

"I'm not. He's the millionaire with the cars, the clubs, the houses...the fucking knockout for a wife..."

Her mouth dropped open a little, "You think I'm a knockout?"

Logan rolled his eyes, "Come on...you know you're gorgeous. No one needs to tell you."

Marie ran a hand through her hair, "Well, it does something to your self confidence when you have a husband who feels the need to constantly find somewhere else to sate his lust..."

"I have no idea why he does that. I mean, if I had you at home, I'd-" He suddenly stopped himself when he caught the look in her eyes. He shook his head and slowly climbed to his feet, "I should get to bed."

She stood with him and put a hand on his chest. For any other man, the touch could have been dismissed as casual contact...but Logan hadn't gotten laid in over four years and she was shaping up to be the girl of his dreams. The touch was about to send him into a frenzy.

He finally found his voice, "What is it?"

"Do you think its right that, after what happened to me the other day...my husband is still somewhere, fucking some other woman?"

Logan looked into her eyes and shook his head, "No. I don't."

"What would you do if you were Victor?"

He slowly shook his head, "I don't think I should-"

"Come on Logan. I'm just curious..."

He sighed and looked into her eyes, "I'd drop everything...rush home, take you into my arms and tell you everything is gonna be OK. I'd tell you that there's no way in hell I'm ever going to let anything happen to you...and I'd promise you I'd protect you until my very last breath."

With that, he slipped from the room to leave her standing there with tears in her eyes over the realization that she didn't have the man that she really wanted...the man who would love her selflessly, take care of her and protect her the way Logan could.

As she walked past his room, she heard the shower start up. She couldn't resist opening the door just a crack to peek in. She was greeted with an eyeful of delicious, rock hard ass as soon as she opened it. She was thankful he was turned away from her for more than one reason as she stood there, silently admiring his wonderfully chiseled butt cheeks. Marie sighed wistfully before quietly closing the door.

Logan woke up early the next morning to get a run in and do some working out. When he returned to the condo, Marie was in the kitchen, wrapped in a towel with wet hair. She glanced at him and waved as she took a sip of freshly brewed coffee, "Hi."

He pulled his sweatshirt off over his head, "Morning."

She looked down at the paper, not noticing that his eyes were practically devouring her body whole. She needed to learn that it wasn't safe to walk around like that in front of him...or maybe she already knew that?

Maybe this was her way of trying to tempt him?

Either way, Logan couldn't stop thinking about that kiss. That perfect, life altering kiss.

Marie picked up her mug of coffee and walked back to her room with two sets of hazel eyes glued to her glistening skin until she was out of sight. He went to his own room to take a cold shower.

As soon as he wrapped his towel around his waist, he heard his cell phone ring. It was Victor. Immediately, a sense of unfounded panic washed over him. Would his brother suspect something?

Logan brushed off the paranoia and answered the phone, "Yeah?"

"Hey, it's me. How's it goin'?"

Logan shrugged a little and ran a hand through his wet hair, "She's...she's feelin' a little neglected."

"Ah. She'll be fine."

"Well...you know her better than I do, but she's pissed that you're not the one here playing bodyguard. She's your wife, Vic. Someone tried to kill her this week and you're off stickin' it in every hole with a pulse."

Victor grumbled, "What are you? The fuckin' marriage police? Marie will be fine. She's safe there."

Logan sighed, "It's not a question of her safety, man. It's a question of her happiness. Do you even know how unhappy she is? Do you know what it does to her when you cheat?"

Victor laughed, "Wow...been watching Oprah with her, huh?"

"It's not like that-"

Victor cut him off, "I know my wife. She knows this is how it is in our marriage...she's gonna have to deal with it. Now keep her entertained for another couple of weeks so that Tony will have a chance to figure out who did this and make them pay."

Logan rolled his eyes, "Fine."

He tossed his phone to the bed just as Marie softly knocked on his door and pushed it open. Although she was pleasantly surprised to see him in his freshly showered state, her mind was preoccupied with the contents of the conversation she'd just overheard.

"Was that Vic on the phone?" she asked quietly.

Logan nodded, "Yeah...did you want to speak with him? I can call back-"

He started to reach for the phone, but she quickly shook her head, "No...no...I'm fine."

"What's the problem?"

Marie looked down to keep from staring at his chest, "I heard what you said...about me and my happiness...and I just wanted to thank you for taking up for me and trying to get through to him. I really appreciate it."

Logan turned away from her. He hadn't meant for her to hear that. He didn't want anyone to think he and Victor were a divided front. They were brothers. They took up for each other no matter what...and here he was, violating the sacred "bros before hoes" code of conduct...only this was no "ho". She was a spirited, beautiful, kind, intelligent, funny woman who wanted nothing more than to be loved.

He wasn't sure if he could stop himself from falling for her. He wasn't sure he _wanted_ to stop himself from falling for her...

Logan took her to the ice skating rink in their condo complex and watched from the side as she made her way around the ice. She was really wobbly at first, but eventually, she was able to make it around the whole rink without Logan feeling the need to rush onto the ice just to keep her perfect ass from meeting the hard, unforgiving surface of the rink.

An older man stood next to him and leaned on the railing, following Logan's intense gaze to Marie, who was now being instructed on how to spin by a young girl who had obviously taken lessons.

"You're in love", said the old man, matter-of-factly.

Logan wrinkled his face and looked at the old man, "Excuse me?"

"I can tell by the way you look at her", said the old man as he casually gestured toward Marie on the ice. "I looked at my wife the exact same way..."

Normally, Logan would have told the old man to mind his own business, but he was curious, "What way?"

"Like there's no one else in the world but her...like everything you thought you knew before no longer matters and all your world consists of is her. Her safety...her happiness...her love..."

Logan looked at the man for a long time before turning his eyes back to Marie and smiling as she celebrated her first turn on the ice without falling.

When they returned to the condo that night, Logan decided to lay down for a nap. She received a call on her phone. The voice was vaguely familiar and sounded strained, "Mrs. Creed?"

"Tony? Is that you? What are you doing calling me? Is Victor OK?"

Marie heard, what sounded like, a loud thump and a groan before Tony got back on the phone, "Uhm...where are you?"

"Vic sent me to Aspen, why?"

"Oh ok...my phone's going dead, gotta go, bye."

Marie furrowed her eyebrows and put the phone down. She surfed the web on her laptop for a while until Logan walked by her open bedroom door. He stopped and walked back to her doorway, "Hey there...what are you up to?"

She shrugged a little, "Just reading the news. Have a good nap?"

He nodded and ventured into her room a little, "How about we go out to dinner tonight? I'll wear one of my new monkey suits."

Marie smiled and nodded, "I'd like that."

"Great."

Two hours later, they were at Aspen's fanciest restaurant. The maitre d' escorted them to their table, where he pulled out Marie's chair, "Oh, miss...may I take your coat?"

"Oh, yes. Thank you."

Logan's jaw hit the floor as she slowly removed her coat, revealing a black v-neck dress that clung perfectly to her beautiful body. Marie was equally impressed with Logan's suit.

They enjoyed each other's company during dinner, making small talk and trading stories. Toward the end of the meal, Logan got distracted by the conversation he'd had with the old man earlier.

She noticed the look on his face and smiled, "Something on your mind?"

He shrugged a little, "No. I don't think so."

When they got back to the condo and walked in, it was pitch black. Marie didn't take much notice and started to walk right into the large living room, but Logan rushed forward and grabbed her arm, having immediately sensed that something was wrong since they'd left a few lights on. He started to back them out of the room, but a hard object came crashing down on his head, knocking him unconscious.

The last thing he heard was Marie's muffled scream as an unknown assailant grabbed her from behind.

* * *

**Dun dun dun duuuuuuun! Cliffhanger! Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

Logan fought hard to regain consciousness. He shook his aching head and blinked his eyes until the blurry, black balls disappeared from his vision. Directly in front of him stood a man wearing all black, holding Marie tight from behind with a hand over her mouth.

The terrified look on her face made Logan suddenly surge forward against his restraints, but he succeeded in doing nothing more than making the rope he was bound with chafe against his wrists. He also realized he had a gag in his mouth.

"Whoa there, big boy...you're a bit of an animal, aren't ya?"

Logan growled in agreement as he yanked against his bonds.

_"You think I'm an animal now...just try and hurt her and see what happens, bub"_, he thought angrily.

As his mind began contemplating an escape, he smiled internally at the realization that his legs weren't bound.

The man who was taunting him grinned sinisterly before walking over to Marie and pushing a hand up her dress, making her squirm in disgust and Logan violently thrash against his bonds.

The taunting man laughed and patted Marie's face roughly before waving off the guy who was holding onto her, "Take her to the car. We're gonna have a little fun before we finish the job."

The man snatched Marie out of the condo and out of Logan's line of sight, making him panic internally. His captor squatted down in front of him and narrowed his eyes as he pulled a cigarette out and lit it. He took a deep drag and blew it in Logan's face, "So, you're Victor's brother, huh? I never had a brother. Is it true that brothers share everything? She's a pretty little thing. You were up here...all alone with that fine piece of ass...and you didn't touch it?"

When Logan simply glared, his captor chuckled, "Don't you worry. I'm gonna test her out for you...nice and slow. Who knows? Maybe Dennis is takin' her for a ride right now..."

Logan murmured against the gag, making his captor playfully put a hand against his ear and lean in, "I'm sorry...what's that?"

He put his cigarette out against Logan's forearm, making him hiss in pain and growl. His captor yanked off his gag as he pulled a gun out of his jacket, "Any last words?"

A dark grin spread across Logan's face, "Yeah...I'm gonna break your fuckin' neck for touchin' her..."

The captor laughed and started to raise the gun, but Logan suddenly wrapped his legs around the man's neck and violently snapped his neck, successfully killing him.

After the man's lifeless body slumped to the ground, he quickly wriggled his wrists in an attempt to free his hands from his bonds, but they were too tight. He stood as best he could with his arms and chest still strapped to the chair, then rammed the chair back against the stone fireplace, successfully shattering it into several pieces.

He laid on his back on the floor and quickly pulled his arms underneath his legs so that his bound hands were now in front of him. From there, he went to the kitchen and took a knife out of the butcher's block, then used it to cut the rope from his wrists.

Logan rushed over to the dead man and searched through his pockets. He grabbed his former captor's wallet and gun before getting his coat and running out of the building. He rushed through the parking lot in an attempt to locate the car where Marie was being held.

He ran low to the ground in an attempt to avoid being spotted by "Dennis" before he found them.

When he suddenly heard the sound of an engine start up, he realized he'd failed. A black Cadillac CTS suddenly sped out of its parking space and toward Logan. He jumped out of the way just in time to avoid getting hit.

He ran to their rental car and got in, chasing the car as it wildly weaved through traffic.

Meanwhile, inside of the car, Marie suddenly grabbed the wheel, but was elbowed and knocked back to the other side of the car. She glared at him as she wiped the blood from her mouth.

This was just the tail end of her fight. While Logan was making his daring escape, she had managed to keep from getting raped by the idiot gorilla who was now driving like a bat out of hell.

When he turned onto a dark, wooded road, she made a grab for the wheel again and was successful in making him lose control of the car. The tires hit a patch of black ice, sending the Cadillac careening into the woods.

Dennis tried to brake, but the vehicle violently slammed into a tree.

Logan watched the accident in horror before pulling off to the side of the road. He rushed down the embankment and ran to the mangled wreckage of the black sedan. He pulled out the gun and aimed it as he approached the vehicle.

As he looked over the wreckage, a feeling of dread crept over him. It didn't look like anyone could survive this...

"Marie?" he called nervously.

He opened the passenger side door to find her unconscious in the front seat with blood running down the side of her face. Dennis' head was awkwardly leaning forward against the steering wheel with his dead eyes wide open, staring into nothingness.

Logan prayed silently as he put away the gun and leaned forward to take her pulse. He let out a small sigh of relief as he continued checking her over for other injuries, "Marie...can you hear me? Come on, darlin'...open your eyes."

It was as if he'd willed her to consciousness. She slowly blinked her eyes open and groggily whispered, "Logan?"

He took a minute to let her regain her bearings before he spoke to her again, "Marie, before I move you, you need to tell me where you're hurtin'."

"My head..."

"Alright, anywhere else?"

She shook her head and gingerly stretched out her limbs to test her body's limitations. He let out a breath and gently picked her up before transferring her to the waiting car.

Logan used the GPS to locate the nearest Urgent Care center and took her there. While she was in with the doctor, he called Victor.

It took him a few tries before he got an answer.

"Vic! Where the hell have you been?"

Victor sounded annoyed, "I'm a little busy here, bro. This better be good."

"It is...they found us."

Victor yelled into the phone, "WHAT! Where's Marie? Is she alright?"

"It happened really fast. They took me completely by surprise...knocked me unconscious, snatched Marie and tried to kill me. I...uhhh...I had to kill one of them. I got the other guys info from his wallet. I'll text it."

Victor spoke quickly, "Where's the body? At the condo?"

"Yeah. Didn't have time for a clean up because the other guy had taken Marie. I chased 'em down and he crashed. The guy died, she's bein' seen by a doctor right now."

"A doctor? What did he say? What's wrong with her?"

Logan shook his head, "I dunno yet. She had a pretty nasty head injury. Might be a concussion."

"Shit...shit shit. How the fuck did they find her?" There was a moment of grumbling and cursing before Victor began making sense again, "I'm gonna have to find Tony. You don't worry about anything but getting her somewhere safe. Get her out of Aspen...I want her out of the damn country if you can manage it. I need to call Tony. You call me back as soon as you talk to her doctor."

***click***

Just as Logan shoved his phone back into his pocket, the nurse who had been assisting the doctor stuck her head out of the double doors, "Are you Logan?" He nodded, "She's asking for you."

He quickly followed the nurse and rushed to Marie's side, "Hey...how are you feelin'?"

She let out a deep, shaky, breath, "Better."

The doctor spoke up, "She suffered a concussion and has a pretty nasty cut on her head, but she's going to be fine, despite the fact that she's going be extremely sore for the next couple of days. Don't be surprised if you're virtually stuck in one position. I'll prescribe you something for the pain and send you home with some ice packs."

Logan gently patted Marie's shoulder before looking back at the doctor, "Can she fly?"

He furrowed his eyebrows a little, "Um. I wouldn't suggest it for another few days. Three at the most. The brain heals fairly quickly. It's just that the altitude change can cause constriction of the blood vessels and it could trigger migraines."

Marie nodded slowly as the doctor smiled and put his hands up, "Alright...I'll get those prescriptions for you and you'll be on your way."

After calling Victor back, filling her prescriptions at the nearest 24 hour pharmacy and buying her a cheap change of clothes, Logan hit the road to Denver, which was almost four hours away. He let Marie sleep for a couple of hours, then woke her up per the doctor's instructions.

He checked them into a luxury suite in the posh, Westin Downtown Denver, then went back to the car to retrieve her. Just as the doctor said, the soreness took over Marie's body. She was barely able to get out of the car, so Logan carried her all the way to the hotel room.

He drew her a warm bath, then peeked his head into the bedroom, "I'm running your bath water. Need anything else?"

She sat in a fairly awkward position on the bed, "Um...I don't think I can bathe...my neck, arms and back or so stiff, this is all I can manage." She turned her head a half inch to the left to demonstrate how immobile she was.

Logan took a step forward, "I know this is weird...but I can help..."

She turned her eyes upward slightly since her head wouldn't cooperate, "What? You mean like...bathe me?"

He gave a single nod, "The warm water will make you feel better."

Marie let her eyes fall back to the floor before she whispered, "Alright..."

He walked over to her and gently slid the zipper of her dress down and helped her up so that she could slide out of it. He trembled as his fingers unlatched her bra, then pulled down her panties.

Logan turned his head to avoid staring and gently guided her to the bathroom before picking her up and putting her in the tub. Her naked body was more beautiful than he ever could have imagined...despite the dark bruises that had been caused by the accident and Dennis' violent, roaming hands.

She breathed out and leaned back against the edge of the tub, happily allowing the warm water to work its magic on her pained body. After a few moments of relaxation, she was able to move just a tad bit more.

He helped wash her hair and found himself sighing at her beauty as she carefully tilted her head back to allow him to pour water over her sudsy tresses. She gathered her knees against her chest as he washed her back, gently running his fingers over her smooth skin.

Despite the obvious fact that a woman he found completely gorgeous was naked and wet in the room with him, the bath carried no lewd, sexual connotations. It was simply him helping her and taking care of her when she needed him. That, in itself, was a beautiful thing.

When she finished rinsing off, he grabbed a large towel, helped her stand and wrapped it around her before gently lifting her out.

Within ten minutes, she fell asleep in bed with ice packs strategically placed on her body. He watched over her from the doorway for a few minutes before going into the bathroom to tend to his own wounds.

He showered and put on one of the robes the hotel provided, then washed his shirt out in the sink and hung it up over the shower rod. He'd have to go shopping for them after he got a few hours of sleep.

By noon, he was awoken by the sounds of the television in the next room. Marie was sitting up in bed, flipping through the channels. She smiled brightly upon seeing him, "Hey...you sleep OK?"

"Yeah. You?"

She put down the remote and nodded slightly, "Yeah, thanks to Percocet and you, Nurse Logan."

Logan waved his hand dismissively, "It was nothin'."

Marie rolled her eyes a little, but kept a good natured smile on her face, "Nothin' my ass...you saw me naked and you were a perfect gentleman."

He turned a deep shade of red and cleared his throat, "I'm gonna go shopping for us." He picked up a note pad off the desk, "What size jeans do you wear?"

"Four."

"Shirt?"

"Small or medium."

"Bra?"

"34 C."

He raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed with that last bit of information. Logan finished scribbling down the information before tearing off the piece of paper and folding it up, "You hungry? I can order you some room service before I go."

She shook her head, "Just bring me back something."

Logan smiled a little and gently brushed her hair off of her forehead to check her bandage, "Almost lost you yesterday, kid..." He gave her a long, thoughtful look before clearing his throat and backing away, "Call me if you need anything at all, OK?"

"Thank you, Logan...I appreciate it."

An hour and a half later, Logan returned to the room to find Marie asleep again. He set the bags down and gently shook her shoulder, "Hey...got your food."

She murmured something inaudible, but didn't wake. He smiled and leaned in closer, "Marie..."

In her unconscious state, she suddenly wrapped an arm around his neck and lazily pulled him down to her lips for a sweet kiss, "Mmm...Logan."

* * *

Three days after her accident, she was still a little sore, but pretty much recovered from her concussion and moving around like normal. It took him a little time to stop constantly thinking about the image of her naked body, but he was finally able to save the picture for when he was in the shower, or in bed. Then, all sorts of lewd fantasies would invade his mind.

When she kissed him the other day, she wasn't fully awake, but still...she'd said his name. That definitely meant something.

Logan bought a netbook from a local electronics store and sat down on the desk as he pulled up a travel site. If Victor was gonna make them leave the country, they were gonna go somewhere she wanted to go. No hiding in a bunker in Mexico for them.

"Where do you wanna go, Marie?"

She scrunched up her brows, "What do you mean? Why aren't we going back to New York?"

"Vic's working on finding, and eliminating, the people who are trying to kill you."

Marie rubbed a hand down her face, "It'll never stop..."

"What do you mean?"

She stood and walked to the window, looking down toward the street, "Even if Victor finds the people responsible for attacking me...they'll have friends and family who want revenge...then they'll come after me all over again...all this for a man who cheats on me and is completely oblivious to my needs. It's enough to make me wanna run away from it all."

He walked over and stood behind her, "Tell me what you wanna do."

Marie smiled peacefully and turned around, "Paris. I wanna do Paris...and since my husband is payin', we're gonna do it big."

When Logan called Victor to tell him their plans, he bitched and moaned until Marie snatched the phone away, "I have been shot at, kidnapped, almost sexually assaulted and survived a fucking car accident in less than a two week span. All the while, you're somewhere else probably still fucking _SOMEONE_ else. I am going to Paris, goddammit. I need this. If you wanna stop me, come and get me!"

There was a long moment of silence before Victor sighed, "Don't forget to use the sky miles..."

Marie let out a breath and nodded, "Alright...thank you."

She hung up the phone and tossed it back to Logan, who wore an impressed smirk, "You DO have him trained."

Marie snuggled into the cozy, spacious first class "compartment" on the plane. Logan was beside her, in his own, watching television. She reached over and gently knocked on the side of his mini-suite, "You enjoyin' yourself there, partner?"

He nodded and moved the earphones out of his ears, "I normally hate flying, but I could definitely get used to traveling like this."

"Can I ask you somethin'?"

Logan noted the seriousness in her voice and shifted uncomfortably, "Uh...sure."

"Do you think he really loves me?"

He blinked rapidly, "What makes you ask that?"

She sighed and took a sip of her wine, "It's just that, on one hand, he'll tell me that I'm his and no one else truly matters...but on the other hand, these clubs are just sooo important he can't get away to tend to his endangered wife."

Logan sighed, "I'm gonna play devil's advocate for a second, OK?"

"OK..."

He leaned forward a little, "Victor's selfish. That's who he is. I think you knew that when you married him. Being selfish is what got him this far in life and it's worked pretty well for him. In a marriage, you're not allowed to be selfish and he knows that...I'm sure if he mistreats you, he feels guilty about it. So he goes and seeks a woman he can be selfish with. He can hurt her feelings and be insensitive without dealing with the guilt of knowing he hurt his wife."

"But he's hurting me now."

Logan nodded, "But he's not here to see it. Out of sight, out of mind. I know it kills me to see it..."

"It bothers you to see me hurt?"

He sighed and murmured under his breath, "More than you know..."

They stared at each other for a while before she leaned over and put a hand on his arm, "Logan...I-"

"Don't, Marie."

* * *

Marie stood in front of the window, smiling down at the Champs-Elysees as cars and people rushed by. They'd landed late last night and Logan was in bed in their gorgeous suite, sleeping off his jet lag.

She turned around and caught a glimpse of his naked chest as he laid on his back, peacefully sleeping.

Before she knew what she was doing, she crept into the bedroom and stared down at his body. She noticed a scar on his chest and reached to gently brush her fingers over the jagged skin when he suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Marie almost screamed, but stopped herself. He slowly opened his eyes and stared up at her for several moments of silence before he pulled her by her wrist to lean down over him. He had been fighting the feels for long enough...too long. He needed to have her and it was going to be now or never.

Logan watched her eyes for signs of hesitation or fear, but found nothing but lust and need.

He gently brushed her hair out of her face before pulling her lips to his and wrapping them in a passionate, hungry kiss.

The soft moan she emitted encouraged him to deepen the kiss as he let go of her wrist and grabbed her waist, yanking her down on the bed on top of him. His fingers teased the edge of her shirt before she leaned up and pulled it off from over her head, then leaned back down to resume their fiery kiss.

He rolled over on top of her and unbuttoned her jeans as his greedy hands began exploring the soft curvature of her stomach and breasts.

Logan sighed in disappointment as his hands connected with her covered breasts...he'd never hated bras before that very moment.

As he moved his mouth to her neck, she closed her eyes, not realizing he had reached for his pocket knife that sat on the nightstand. He grabbed it, expertly flipped it open with one hand and sliced her bra from her chest.

She bit her bottom lip as he put the knife away and moved his lips to one of her perfect pink nipples, gently teasing the hardened nub with his tongue as she writhed in pleasure beneath him.

As he pleasured her breasts, he reached down and unzipped her jeans, then pushed his hand inside, desperately seeking out her clit.

He marveled at the fact that she was already dripping wet...had she been wanting this for as long as he had? One touch of her delicious cunt told him that answer had to be "yes".

Marie raised her hips off the bed and whined, "Logan...I need you."

Who was he to disappoint?

He kissed his way down her body and quickly yanked her jeans and panties off in one, fluid motion. He took a moment to stare at her squirming body. It was if her arousal made it impossible for her to lay still.

Logan grabbed her knees and yanked them apart before greedily diving face first into her pussy, licking and sucking at her velvety folds. She let out a high pitched little squeak just before her fingers began raking through his hair.

As he licked and sucked, her hips began to undulate in tune with his motions. She cried out as he sent her sky rocketing into a mind numbing orgasm.

He smirked as he felt her body quiver and buck against his face, almost as if it were giving him a silent round of applause for a job well done.

He stuck two fingers inside of her and gently stroked, "You done?"

Marie, whose entire body was glistening with a sheen of sweat caused by her climax, shook her head and breathed out, "Hell no..."

Logan moved back up her body and began kissing her neck, but she pushed him onto his back and licked her way down his chest. She relished the opportunity...after all, she'd been dreaming about getting her tongue on his rock hard torso since the moment she saw him shirtless.

He moaned as she yanked his underwear down and curled her slender fingers around his already throbbing member. Marie flicked her tongue over the tip several time before sliding his cock into her mouth, inch by pleasure filled inch.

Logan struggled to maintain control as he ran both hands through his hair and gasped at the sensation of feeling her wholly envelope his cock with her hot mouth.

All thoughts of Victor were completely absent from both of their minds when she climbed back up his body and straddled him. She bit her lip nervously and he took that as a sign to flip her back over onto her back and line his erection up with her opening.

He stared down into her eyes as he suddenly shoved himself inside of her, burying his member inside of her as deep as it could possibly go.

Marie's eyes closed briefly as she let out a gentle cry, but soon, she was staring back at him while he slowly moved in and out of her. She ran her hands up his back and raised her hips, encouraging him to deepen his thrusts, if at all possible.

She wanted more of him...she NEEDED more of him.

A second orgasm was approaching at the speed of light and Logan wasn't far behind. He breathlessly cried her name as he sped up his movements, moaning as his thrusts began causing the headboard to bang against the wall.

Suddenly, Marie arched and yelled, "Logan!" as she came hard, clenching and tensing around him. He slammed inside of her once last time, releasing himself deep within her as they rode the subsiding waves of their orgasms back to shore.

For several minutes, they laid there with limbs intertwined and their bodies still joined before he finally kissed her and looked down into her eyes, "Was I just a way to get back at him?"

Logan dare not speak his brother's name as he lay with his softening member still buried inside of his wife.

Marie shook her head and ran a gently hand through his sweat drenched hair as she looked into his eyes, "No..."

* * *

**Review please folks! What do you think? **


	6. Chapter 6

He couldn't believe what he'd done...what THEY'D done. It was more than sex. It had to be. He could see it in her eyes. He laid on his side, watching her sleep for the better part of the night, just trying to figure out what came next.

Logan knew that if his brother ever found out about what happened between the two of them, he'd kill him...maybe Marie too. Obviously, he couldn't allow that. He wanted to protect her now more than ever.

He leaned down and kissed her shoulder, making her moan in delight as she rolled over to meet his eyes, "Hey..."

Logan stroked her face, "Hey yourself...you sleep well?"

Marie answered by burying her face in his neck and pressing her naked body against his beneath the sheet. His eyes rolled closed as he breathed her name and ran a hand down her back, gathering her body closer into his.

It only took a few kisses and soft caresses for both of them to get ready and raring to go. She climbed on top and pushed his erection inside of her before she began rolling her hips in sensual circles.

He placed each hand on one of her perfect ass cheeks and helped guide her movements as her head fell back, "Oh god...Logan...Logan...Logan..."

Logan sat up and began kissing her neck as her movements continued to build in speed and intensity. The pleasure welling inside of her was just too much to contain.

She suddenly moved off of him and licked her lips before getting on her knees on the bed in front of him. He quickly kneeled behind her and plunged his cock right back into its home inside of her.

He fucked her hard and fast, pouring every last bit of strength he could muster into riding her.

Marie lost count of how many orgasms she experienced, but she was sure the number exceeded three.

He flipped her back onto her back and literally fucked her right off the bed, causing them to fall to the floor in a tangled mass of limbs. She was lost in a world of orgasmic bliss. When he finally came and her body felt like a quivering pile of gelatin, they laid on the floor of the hotel room with their feet propped up on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

She panted, "You know...we should leave this hotel room sometime...we are in the city of lights."

Logan chuckled breathlessly, "I doubt anything outside of this room is more amazing than what I got layin' next to me."

Marie laughed softly and nudged him, "Come on, Logan. We got some sight seein' to do."

After getting dressed, they went to the Arc de Triumphe, then the Eiffel Tower. They were in a cab on their way to the Louvre when Logan reached over and stuck his hand beneath her skirt.

She gasped and immediately asked the cab driver to take them back to their hotel. They stumbled into their room kissing and yanking off their coats. Logan hiked up her skirt and ripped her panties off as she opened his pants and wrapped a leg around his waist.

He let out a deep moan as he thrust forward and immediately found his way inside of her wet snatch. He fucked her against their hotel room door with his pants around his ankles and her shredding panties hanging off her thigh.

They collapsed on the floor by the door, sated and exhausted from sex and a day full of sightseeing. Marie laid on top of him on the floor, laying idle kisses across his chest as he played with her hair.

Logan and Marie were happily lost in their own little world until her cell phone rang. She knew who it was before she even looked at the phone.

Marie wished she could just let the phone ring and forget about it, but Victor would freak out if she didn't answer. She got up and crawled across the floor to grab her purse and fish out her phone. Logan sighed and stood, stowing himself away in his pants before going to the mini bar and helping himself to a drink.

"Hello?"

Victor's voice came through, "Hey doll, how are ya?"

She shrugged, "Fine...got to do some sight seeing."

"Oh good. How's Logan treating you?"

"Uhm...fine. He's fine. Did you want to talk to him?"

"Yeah. Put him on the phone."

Marie handed Logan the phone and disappeared into the bathroom, "Hey."

"She drivin' you crazy, man?"

Logan stared after her and sighed, "Somethin' like that. Any leads?"

"Actually, yeah. Don't tell Marie, but it seems my old pal Tony decided to go AWOL. He's the one who figured out where you guys were...he decided to join up with Ronny's old crew. I got foot soldiers handling him and his new buddies now. It should be safe for you to come back in a few days."

He felt disappointed that his alone time with Marie was drawing to a close. Logan let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair, "Alright...sounds good."

He hung up the phone just as Marie emerged from the bathroom. Logan looked up at her as she leaned against the door frame, "What's up? He find out who's tryin' to kill me?"

Logan sighed and looked down, remembering that his brother told him not to tell Marie what was going on. She took a step closer and tilted his chin up, "What's going on?"

"Victor didn't want me to tell you, but I think you deserve to know. Tony...he's the one who was helping Ronny's old crew track you down."

Marie blinked and slowly lowered herself to the bed, "He...he called me the day of the accident...asking where I was...oh god. It's my fault. It's my fault...it's all my fault..."

Logan grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet, "It is not your fault, you hear me? You had no idea. If Victor had been more careful about who he had around you, we wouldn't be in this mess..."

She looked up into his eyes, "I wish I didn't have to go back to him."

He gently brushed a tear off of her cheek with his thumb and looked into her eyes, "Why do you have to?"

"Logan...we can't even talk like this. You know he wouldn't let me go...especially if you were the one I was leaving him for. He'd probably kill us both."

Logan nodded and pressed his forehead against hers and sighed as he closed his eyes. She was right. Victor would turn into a raging, homicidal maniac if he found out his brother...the one person he thought he could trust, was boning his wife.

* * *

A few days later, they received a call from Victor, telling them the coast was clear. They made love one last time, then cleaned up and checked out of their hotel to board a plane back to real life.

On the plane, Logan reached over and took her hand to lay a gentle kiss across her knuckles, "I'll always be there when you need me, OK?"

She nodded and pursed her lips together, "Thank you."

When the car pulled up to the house, Victor was waiting out front. He rushed over to Marie and gave her a hungry kiss, which he didn't notice that she didn't quite respond to. Logan almost felt the need to vomit when he saw Victor touch her.

When he was finished slobbering over Marie, he shook Logan's hand and gave him a bear hug, "I owe you big bro...you protected the thing I treasure most..."

Logan shook his head and shrugged, "Don't mention it. You're my brother, after all."

"Ah...but good deeds don't go unrewarded in our family..."

Victor pulled a set of keys and an envelope out of his pocket and handed them to a perplexed Logan, "What's this?"

"One key goes to that Lexus...the other goes to an apartment in the city. It's furnished, the building's fuckin' amazing. Twenty-four hour concierge, indoor pool, rooftop deck...celebrity neighbors...everything a bachelor needs."

Marie bit her bottom lip as Logan glanced at her over Victor's shoulder. Logan nodded, "Thanks man...I appreciate it."

Victor smirked and turned back to his wife as he continued to speak to Logan, "You go take your car for a spin and check out your new digs...I'm gonna get reacquainted with my wife..."

Logan's stomach dropped as he watched Victor walk over to Marie and kiss her neck before he grabbed her ass and guided her back into the house. As she disappeared through the doorway, Marie and Logan's eyes connected.

Marie walked into her bedroom and tossed her bag onto the floor. It definitely did NOT feel good to be home.

Victor came up behind her and kissed her neck, "I missed you."

She crossed her arms, "You did? Did you tell your girlfriends that?"

"Aww baby...don't be like that. It's been so long since I've seen you. Don't ruin it by bein' a jealous bitch."

Marie narrowed her eyes at him, then stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door. She was surprised he let her get through the whole shower before he stormed in, picked her up and carried her to the bed.

She shut her eyes tight as he laid kisses over her body, then unceremoniously thrust himself inside of her. Marie laid still beneath him and imagined she was somewhere far away with Logan...

Meanwhile, Logan was arriving at his brand new bachelor pad. He almost didn't feel comfortable walking into such a fancy building.

He found a bottle of whiskey on the counter with a note attached, "Enjoy, bro. You deserve a big drink after having to put up with my wife for so long."

Logan tossed the note and poured a tall glass before sitting down on the leather couch and looking out the window over Central Park as he tried to numb the aching in his chest that was caused by the realization that the woman he wanted more than anything was now in another man's arms.

He took a deep sip of the whiskey and sighed, "What the fuck have I gotten myself into?"

* * *

The only good part about returning home was the fact that she got the chance to return to her volunteer work at the hospital. She had missed all of the kids and was excited to tell them all about France.

Although he'd almost lost Marie to multiple near death experiences, Victor didn't seem to appreciate her any more than he had before and very quickly settled back into his routine of work, clubbing and cheating.

Logan was helping out with day to day operations at "The Den" and trying to keep himself busy. Despite the fact that he had the hottest club going women in New York throwing their asses in his face on a nightly basis, he went home alone every night and reminisced about the perfect few days he spent with Marie in Aspen and France.

After nearly three weeks of not seeing her, he was home during the day, just getting ready to head to his building's gym when he heard a small knock at his door. When he answered, Marie stood there wearing a scarf on her head and large sunglasses.

"May I come in?"

Did she even need to ask?

He nodded and opened his door wide before checking the hallway for prying eyes and closing his door behind her.

She took the scarf and sunglasses off before looking around his apartment, "This is nice..."

Logan nodded and followed her eyes around the room before shoving his hands in his pockets, "Yeah. It's OK. Everything alright? Want some water or something?"

"A water would be nice."

He grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and handed it to her, "What are you doing here, Marie?"

She fiddled with the bottle of water and looked down. She spoke without looking at him, "I miss you."

Logan's mouth dropped open a little, "You missed me?"

Marie sighed and set the bottle of water down before turning to head back toward the door, "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have come-"

He cut her off by grabbing her wrist and snatching her back to him and planting a hungry kiss on her lips. Her body immediately weakened against his as he yanked her jacket off and hiked up her skirt.

Time was of the essence, but he was going to make the most of each and every short second they had together.

Logan murmured her name against her lips as she opened his pants and pushed her hand inside to wrap her fingers around his cock.

They never made it to the bedroom. As they stumbled through his apartment, stripping off clothes and tripping over furniture, they landed on his couch with her on top of him. She quickly pushed his cock inside of her and gasped as she began riding him for all she was worth.

Marie held onto the back of his neck for leverage as her hips took on a mind of their own, rolling and bucking as he whispered her name reverently.

Logan pushed her shirt up and yanked down one of the cups of her bra before leaning forward and wrapping his lips around one of her nipples. As his teeth grazed her sensitive flesh, she cried out and threw her head back.

They shivered and tensed in unison as a simultaneous orgasm took hold of their bodies, wrapping them in a cocoon of unbridled pleasure.

Marie panted and pressed her forehead against his as she continued caressing the back of his neck, "I missed you...so damn much..."

He let out a breath and kissed her lips before stroking her cheek with his thumb, "I missed you too baby...more than you know."

They couldn't bask in he after glow of their orgasm like they had in France. Marie reluctantly climbed off of him, went to the bathroom to clean up and straighten up her clothes, then kissed him goodbye.

He pulled her body back to his for a longer, lingering kiss before finally releasing her from his grip and watch her leave his apartment.

When she got back home, it was raining, so she allowed the rain to soak her as she walked to the door. Victor was standing in the kitchen, looking down at a piece of paper with a look of sheer disgust on his face.

She walked over to the refrigerator to get a bottle of water and murmured a greeting that he didn't respond to.

"Something wrong?"

Victor tossed the paper down and glared at her, "Don't play dumb, Marie. You know exactly what the fuck is wrong."

She swallowed hard as her breathing quickened and her mind started moving a mile a minute. How had he found out?

_Don't look guilty...just play innocent..._

"Wh-what are you talking about?" she asked shakily.

"N-Y-U is what I'm talking about!" he yelled as he threw a balled up envelope in her direction.

Marie actually had to stop herself from laughing in relief as he held up a piece of paper, "Your grades...how long has this been going on?"

She rolled her eyes and took a sip from her water bottle, "Not long. Don't worry about it. It keeps me busy while you're out tending to your own extra curricular affairs."

He angrily followed her as she began walking out of the kitchen, "I won't tolerate being lied to in my own house, Marie."

Marie stopped and spun around, "You, of all people should talk! You lie to my face daily! Being lied to by you is just like a hot cup of coffee in the morning. I can't start my day without you telling me a big fat whopper!"

Victor suddenly grabbed her face and yanked her close, "Have you forgotten who you're talkin' to? This is MY house! I make the rules! I own it and I own you, you hear me? You're mine and you do what I say! If I say jump you better not fucking ask how high, you just fucking jump!"

She violently pushed away from him and spit in his face, "Fuck you!"

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she took off running. He was hot on her heels and managed to trip her up on the stairs and grab her ankle, but she kicked away and jumped back to her feet before running into their bedroom and locking herself inside.

He banged against the door and attempted to break inside, but the large, ornate doors had finally proven useful with their heaviness and deadbolt locks.

"Marie! You better fucking open this door before I shoot it open!"

She backed into the room as her eyes darted about for a weapon or escape route, "Vic! I'll call the police!"

Victor's beating of the large doors calmed. She heard him groan and sigh, "Look baby...we need to talk. Come on. Just open the door."

She cried and collapsed on the floor, "Go away!"

He tried to get her to open the door for several more minutes, but finally gave up and stormed out of the house in a fit of rage.

When Marie opened the door again, Janice was standing there in her robe, "Are you alright?"

Marie shook her head and collapsed into her friends arms as tears streamed down her face.

* * *

**Sooooo...what do you think? I love this Marie/Logan dynamic. Star crossed lovers always get my gears turning! Review please! Tell me what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

Marie stared down at the cup of tea Janice had made for her.

She heard her friend clear her throat, "One hour of weeping...it's time for talking. What happened?"

Marie looked up and wiped a couple of tears off of her face, "I don't know how long I can stay in this marriage..."

Janice reached across the table and put a hand over hers, "I know you and Mr. Creed have your fair share of issues, but it's nothing you won't work through. Just give him a-"

"I'm in love with someone else", she blurted, effectively cutting her off. Marie put her hands over her face and shook her head. She shouldn't have dumped that information in Janice's lap.

Her friend just sat there, looking like she'd just been hit with a stun gun for several moments before she finally spoke, "Who? I mean...how? When?"

Marie bit her lip, "I don't know if I should tell you..."

"Why not?"

She sighed and shook her head, "Because...if Victor were to ever suspect anything, he'd be busting down doors and cracking the heads of people he thought would tell him what he wants to know. I can't let you get caught in the middle of this."

"I can take care of myself. I'm your friend, Marie. I know I'm the only one you can talk to."

Marie rubbed her forehead, "Logan..."

"B-b-but I thought you hated him...and he hated you."

She actually smiled at the thought of him, "I did...he did. We hated each other, but that was only because we'd made all these stupid assumptions about each other. The more I learned about him, the more I fell for him. He's so different than Vic...they came from the same background, but Logan has a kinder heart."

"That big, gruff guy who only grunts when you ask him a question?"

Marie nodded and blushed, "You'd be amazed how much he opens up once he trusts you. He risked his life to save me twice..."

"Wow...you sound like you have it pretty bad. Mr. Creed would freak if he ever found out..."

She nodded, "Which is exactly why he can never find out."

"Don't worry, Marie. Your secret is safe with me..."

When Janice went back to bed, Marie went back to her room and called Logan's cell.

"Hello?"

"Logan?"

He breathed her name as if he was whispering it into her ear, "Marie...are you alright?"

The tears welled up within her anew as her voice cracked, "Um...I don't think so."

"Are you hurt? What happened? Where are you?"

She wiped her face and sniffled, "Victor found out about me going back to school and he freaked. I had to lock myself in the bedroom..."

"What? Are you OK? Did he hurt you?"

"No...he left a couple of hours ago..." She glanced out of her window to see an obviously drunk Victor stumble out of a car in their driveway, "Oh no...he's back. He's drunk. I gotta go."

Logan's eyes widened, "Marie. Lock the door. Don't let him in the room."

The sound of a dial tone told him it was too late. She'd already hung up the phone.

Logan cursed, grabbed his jacket and keys and rushed out of his apartment.  


* * *

Marie heard him wail her name repeatedly as he drunkenly stomped up the stairs toward their room. She jumped as he swung open the door and eyed her sinisterly.

"Well hello, Mrs. Creed..." Victor smirked as he slammed the door and shrugged out of his jacket.

She took a step back and held up her hands, "You're drunk baby...why don't you lay down and I'll go get you some water."

"Oh I think we can do something more fun than that", he said as he continued shedding clothes and stalking toward her.

Marie shook her head and whispered, "Victor, please..."

He rushed toward her, but she ran around the room and crawled across the bed to get away from him. Victor laughed and stared at her before darting after her. She made it to the door just as he slammed it shut from behind her.

He grabbed her, but in her tenacious effort to get away from, he ripped her shirt. She grabbed her phone off the dresser, but Victor snatched her back and threw her on the bed.

Marie punched and kicked at her husband as he tried to force his way between her legs, "Stop it! Victor! Stop it! Get off!"

He laughed as her efforts to fight him off fell upon senses that had been dulled by a full bottle of vodka. She managed to free her leg and kneed him in the groin as hard as she could, making him hiss in pain and grab his crotch before falling off of her. She grabbed the alarm clock off of the night stand and hit him in the head, successfully rendering him unconscious.

She panted and dropped the alarm clock just as Logan came barging into the room, "Are you OK? What happened?"

Marie, who was still panting heavily motioned toward his unconscious brother, "Asshole wouldn't listen."

Logan raised his eyebrows at her ripped shirt, "So...you're OK?"

She nodded and let out a breath, "I need a drink."

"And another shirt."

Marie glanced down at her bra as it peeked through the tattered remains of her shirt, "Oh, right."

While she changed clothes, he hoisted his brother up into bed and checked his breathing to make sure he was alright. They walked out of the room and looked at each other.

She smiled, "What are you doing here?"

"I know a drunk, angry Victor is never a good thing."

Marie smirked, "You're still playing hero, huh?"

"I couldn't help it...but I guess I should know that you're not as helpless as you seem."

"This isn't the first time I've had to fight off a drunk Victor. I've gotten pretty good at fending him off. It's the kidnapping and bullet dodging I really need your help with", she said with a good natured wink, despite the fact that he could tell she was upset.

Logan gently snaked a hand around to the back of her neck and cupped her head, "You sure you're OK?"

Marie pursed her lips together and moved from beneath his comforting touch...but she wished she didn't have to. She sighed and looked down as she walked past him, "We shouldn't do that here."

"Marie...I-"

"Please..." she whispered as she put a gently hand on his chest. She concentrated on that point on his chest in an effort to avoid his intense gaze, "Don't say anything. You have to know that, after what I've just dealt with with that man in there, anything you say is going to make me throw myself into your arms and beg you to take me away from it all, regardless of the consequences and we can't do that, because you, of all people, know what Victor is capable of."

Logan just sighed and closed his eyes as he kissed her forehead, obliging her request by remaining silent. When her trembling had subsided, he kissed her forehead again and guided her downstairs. He stayed there for the remainder of the night, making sure that if Victor woke up, he stayed away from her.

The next morning, he loudly entered the master bedroom and yanked open the blinds in an obvious effort to make his brother's morning a living hell.

"Rise and shine big bro!" he yelled as Victor attempted to shield his eyes from the invading sunlight.

"Gah! What the fuck, man! What time is it?"

Logan smirked, "Late enough. Now come on! Wakey wakey!"

Victor rubbed his face and slowly sat up, "Shit...what happened last night?"

"I came in just as you were about to rape your wife."

Victor rolled his eyes, "It's not called rape if its your wife, man."

"It's rape if she says no, no matter who she is. Keep that in mind next time and you won't wake up with a lump on your head."

"Ahhh, lighten up, Jimmy. Where is the little vixen anyways?"

Logan smirked, "Out. She needed time away to cool off. You should really be careful about how you treat her. She's a good woman and she doesn't deserve the shit you've been dishin' out."

"You're not married. You don't know what it's like."

"You're right. I'm not married. I don't know what it's like...but I know a gem when I see one and I know wrong when I see it."  


* * *

Instead of sitting at home, pouting as she waited for Victor to come home like she usually did, she found time to sneak off to Logan's apartment.

To avoid raising the suspicion of the door man at his building, he'd meet her at the service entrance and take her up the back way. Sometimes, he'd even come up to the hospital with her to visit the children he'd met there during his first visit.

During one such visit, he got a chance to meet Angel's parents just outside of his room. They looked stressed and frazzled, just like any parents of a terminally ill child would. Marie hugged both parents, "This is my brother-in-law, Logan. He's taken an interest in volunteering."

They shook his hand and favored him with tight smiles, "Nice to meet you."

After Logan nodded a greeting, she noticed the unusually depressed demeanor of the two parents. Marie furrowed her eyebrows, "Is something wrong?"

The mother lowered her voice, "We...uh...we're having problems with Warren's medical bills. We might have to move him to another facility because we can't afford it here anymore."

"But...this is the best place for him. They don't offer treatment like this in any other hospital in the tri-state area." Marie quieted her ranting and leaned in, "How much do you need?"

The father spoke up, "We don't wanna trouble you with our sob story, Mrs. Creed-"

"I said...how much do you need?"

The parents looked at each other. The father nodded as she pulled a worn envelope out of her purse and handed it to Marie. She took it and pulled the paper out, which turned out to be a hospital bill for over $15,000."

Marie handed it back and took off the sapphire and diamond earrings she wore, immediately causing the mother to erupt into tears and shake her head, "Mrs. Creed, no...we can't."

Logan's mouth dropped open.

"Yes, you can and you will. I have a bracelet to match that I'll get to you tomorrow. It's from Tiffany's and the set costs at least $20,000. Don't take any less than $15,000, OK?"

The father held his wife with a trembling bottom lip for a few moments before taking the earrings and whispering repeated "thank yous" to her. The wife threw herself into Marie's arms and sobbed as Logan watched, near tears himself for the first time in his life.

Marie smiled, "I promised Warren a date when he got better and he better not stand me up. He's gotta get better."

When they walked into the parking lot, Marie started to open her car door, but Logan closed it from behind and gripped her waist as he breathed against the back of her head.

She closed her eyes and let out a shivering breath as his hand reached inside her jacket and moved beneath her shirt, "I need you, Marie...now..."

He suddenly spun her around and pressed her against her car as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her passionately. He no longer cared that they were in a public place, in broad daylight. He was too in love with her to care...After witnessing her kind, selfless act, he couldn't do anything but kiss her. It was because of who she was that he was willing to risk everything for her...including his life.

They went to his apartment and barely made it inside the door before he began undressing her and laying kisses over every inch of flesh he exposed. She broke away from him briefly to finish removing her clothes, then led him to the bedroom.

Logan undressed as he watched her climb onto the bed and beckon him over. He smirked as he craled between her open legs and slowly pushed himself inside of her as he looked down into her eyes.

If only he'd met her first...she would have been his wife and the future mother of his children.

She wrapped her arms around him and leaned up for a loving, lingering, deep kiss that they both concentrated on more than the act of actually having sex. Soon, he was slowly moving in and out of her and whispering sweet nothings against her skin.

Marie rolled them over and Logan was treated to the sight of her undulating hips as she tossed her head back and moaned his name. He reached up and gently cupped her bouncing breasts.

When he felt her body begin to buck and tremble, he allowed his own release to erupt. She collapsed onto his chest, panting and shuddering in the soft after glow of her orgasm.

After several moments of silence, Logan gently ran his fingers through her hair, "You're amazing, Marie...you know that?"

She smirked, obviously thinking he was referring to her abilities in the bedroom, "Why thank you. I'm a woman of many talents, you know."

He chuckled softly, then gently tilted her head up to look into her eyes, "No, I'm talkin' about what you did today for Warren and his family. You're amazing...and I hate that life isn't better for you."

Marie rolled off of him and looked at the sizeable diamond rings on her finger that had begun feeling much heavier in recent months, "I shoulda given them this."

Logan took her hand and pulled the rings off before setting them on the night stand, "Within these four walls, you're mine, OK?"

She nodded and giggled softly as he rolled over and kissed her neck. They made love again before she left.

Marie never did remember to put her rings back on.

* * *

**Review please folks! I'm posing another "should there be a baby" question. Tell me if you'd like to see one and how you'd like to see it come about! I'm in need of a little bit of feedback.**


	8. Chapter 8

Victor sat across from Marie at the breakfast table as she studied for an upcoming exam. He eyed her for a second before taking a sip of his coffee, "Where are your rings?"

Marie's eyes bugged out as she looked down at her finger. Despite the fact that she wore the large rings almost constantly for four years, it felt completely natural for her to not have them on.

She let out a breath and stuttered, "I had a diamond lose...dropped it off at the jewelers."

Victor nodded and looked back down at his paper, "What does my best girl want for her birthday?"

She breathed out, then spared him a brief, dry glance before looking back down at her book and dragging her highlighter across the page, "I dunno. Why don't you ask her?"

He smirked and crossed his arms, "Come on, doll. I need help here."

Marie rolled her eyes. After four years of marriage, he still needed help figuring out what to buy her for her birthday. It was just more proof that Victor didn't give a damn.

She shrugged her shoulders and mumbled, "Just buy more jewelry or something. It's not a big deal."

"Oh, you got a call while you were in the shower last night, I have a message for you."

Marie raised her eyebrows, "Who was it from?"

Victor smirked, "The editor-in-chief at Playboy. They're doing a Socialite issue and want you."

She blinked rapidly, "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why not? It's a perfect opportunity to get _'The Den's' _name in a major publication."

Marie scoffed, "I'm your wife, Victor...you shouldn't want anyone to see me naked but you."

He got up and took one last sip of his coffee before putting on his suit jacket and kissing her head, "Whatever you say, baby. Don't wait up tonight. Got a dinner meeting."

Marie bit down on her highlighter and watched him leave. As soon as his car was out of the driveway, she jumped up and ran upstairs to get dressed and grab her purse. She left the house and drove to the city to find Logan waiting outside of his building for her.

She jumped out and rushed around the car to get in the passenger's side so that he could drive. When they were a little ways away from his building, he handed her her wedding rings before she leaned over and kissed him, "Missed you..."

"Missed you too, darlin'. You doin' OK?"

Marie nodded and sighed, "I'm better now..."

He smirked as he reached over and took a hold of her hand, "Me too baby..."

Since Victor was scheduled to be busy all day, Logan drove them to Connecticut, where they ate at a quaint, out-of-the-way diner, went on a nature walk and visited a farm stand. At the end of their day together, they sat in an open field by the road side, soaking up the warm afternoon sun.

He handed her a wrapped package, "Happy Birthday."

Marie sat up and smiled, "It's still a whole three weeks from now."

Logan nodded, "I know. I just wasn't sure if we'd have any time alone between now and then, so I wanted to give it to you now."

She stroked his cheek and leaned over to lay a gentle kiss on his lips, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me til you open it...come on..."

When Marie opened the box, her mouth dropped open. It was a copy of the book _"Reviving Ophelia" _and a filled out application for the Clinical Childhood Psychology graduate program at Columbia University. She bit her trembling lip and stared down at her gifts for several moments.

This was no meaningless piece of jewelry or an extra pair of designer shoes. This gift was _her_...he knew her and cared enough about her to get to understand her...

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before picking up the application he filled out for her, "I figured you'd need a place to go to grad school so that you could actually use what you've learned in undergrad. I put two and two together...how good you are with the kids at the hospital and that thesis paper you were writing on adolescent girls and figured you would want to pursue childhood psychology. Do you like it?"

Marie took a deep breath and looked up into his eyes as tears began spilling out onto her cheeks, "This is perfect...I love it."

Logan leaned forward and frowned at her tears, "I didn't wanna make you cry."

"No...no...it's good. These are good tears...sort of."

He pulled her onto his lap, "Sort of?"

Marie looked into his eyes, "I just wish days like these didn't have to end. I wish you were the one I was going home to."

Logan sighed and held her close, "It'll be alright."

* * *

Since Victor was completely unimaginative when it came to ideas for his wife's birthday, he decided to throw her a huge party at the club and use it as a "red carpet" event. Marie insisted it be a charity event if her name was going to have anything to do with it, so Victor, seeing a good PR opportunity, decided to partner up with the CURE Childhood Cancer foundation. Tickets for the general public started at $100 and exceeded $500 for VIP booths.

When a number of A-listers were confirmed for the party, it turned into an all-out media circus and Victor was basking in every second of it.

By the time Marie and Victor arrived to her birthday party, they had to walk the red carpet and talk to the throngs of reporters who had gathered to cover the event. Victor made Marie pose by herself on the red carpet as he stood to the side, yelling over all the noise, "Isn't she sexy? We're thinking of doing Playboy!"

She wore a gun metal gray, one shoulder mini dress and silver high heeled shoes and her hair hung down in long sexy waves past her shoulders. When she was done posing, Victor took her by the waist and began hamming it up for every entertainment reporter in line.

A female reporter stuck a microphone in their faces, "Marie, you're celebrating the big 2-5, Victor, you've just opened up two more 'Den' locations across the US to fantastic response, what's next on the agenda for you two? Should we be expecting the pitter patter of little feet?"

Before Marie could open her mouth, Victor laughed and patted Marie's flat stomach, "Hey, you never know. Life is what happens when you're makin' other plans, right? We're workin' on it!"

The reporter looked as if Victor had just placed a juicy steak in front of her as they moved further down the red carpet to pose for the next bank of photographers. Marie leaned up and whispered in her husband's ear, "I'd like to know about our reproductive plans before the rest of the fucking world does."

He continued smiling for the cameras as he leaned over and spoke through clenched teeth, "Cool it, doll. You won't have to lift a finger. I'll hire as many nannies as you need."

Marie spoke through her fake smile, "Oh so you've made the decision? _You're_ ready to have a baby and BAM, that's it? I don't get a say?"

Victor continued posing with her, "Like it or not, Marie...I've built a business empire...its a kingdom, and every kingdom needs and heir. Besides, babies are really good publicity."

There was too much going on for the conversation to continue. He walked them over to another reporter, "Happy birthday, Marie! You both look fabulous! How are you doing this evening?"

"Great! I'm so glad so many people have come together to support Cure. It's a great organization and the proceeds from tonight go toward helping cover the medical costs of children who are battling childhood cancer."

"Beautiful inside AND out! You're quite a lucky man Mr. Creed. Are you two ever going to expand your family?"

Victor quickly leaned toward the microphone, "You'll have to stay tuned. It's definitely in the works."

By the time Marie got into the club, she was in desperate need of a drink, so she made a bee line for the bar, fighting her way through large crowds and well wishers. She leaned over the bar, "Scotch double on the rocks."

A familiar voice sounded behind her, "That sounds a little strong for such a pretty little lady..." Logan joined her at the bar and smirked, making her heart melt as she stared into his hazel eyes, "Hey gorgeous..."

"Hi..." she said with a wide grin.

The bar tender set their drinks down and walked away as she picked up her glass and took a sip, "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I am the manager...and besides, this is a great cause."

Marie nodded, "Children's cancer research..."

"And your birthday..."

They stared at each other for several moments before Victor walked over and slapped Logan on the back, effectively breaking him out of his reverie, "Holy shit, this place is packed! Havin' a good time, doll?"

She rolled her eyes and brought her drink to her lips, "Fabulous."

Victor pulled her close and pointed toward a booth in the corner, "I gotta go schmooze. You gonna be OK without me?"

Marie nodded eagerly, "Absolutely."

After a few minutes of hanging out at the bar, Marie leaned over and whispered to Logan, "Is there anywhere you can take me? Anywhere at all?"

He took a long swig of his drink, then whispered back, "Follow my lead."

Logan sat back, then "accidentally" spilled some of his drink on the edge of Marie's dress. He feigned outrage, "Oh god! I'm so sorry! Ah Jesus...that's gonna stain isn't it?"

Marie nodded with widened eyes, "Um, yeah...it's pretty delicate fabric."

"Well...I think I have some stuff in my office you can use to get that out..."

"Lead the way."

He did so, happily.

As soon as he entered his office, he locked the door behind them and yanked her body to his for a passionate kiss. Marie immediately unbuckled his belt and opened his pants as he backed her up against the desk.

He hiked up her skirt and yanked down her panties before sitting her up on the edge of the desk. She bit her bottom lip and leaned back as he pulled his pants down and gripped her thigh, raising it around his waist.

Logan trailed kisses up her neck as he pushed himself inside of her, making them both gasp in pleasure. His pace was fast and desperate. They knew they didn't have much time and they needed to make the most of the few minutes they had.

It didn't take long before both of them were being thrown into a mutual fit of ecstasy by a shared orgasm. After they came, Marie wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close as he kissed her shoulder and whispered her name.

They cleaned up and actually got the stain out of her dress before rejoining the party. As they approached the bar, Marie tensed visibly when she saw Victor standing there. He spotted them and walked over, "Where've you two been?"

"I spilled a drink on my dress."

Victor looked her up and down, "Good job getting the stain out. Come on, I got people you need to meet."

After being shown off for Victor's new friends, she returned to where Logan stood at the bar. At one point in the night, Victor glanced over at them as they leaned close to each other, talking and smiling as if no one else was in the room.

He shook off the feeling of paranoia and went about his business.

* * *

Logan and Marie knew they had to be vigilant about being careful, but for some reason, they kept making stupid mistakes. Her leaving her ring at his apartment turned out to be just the tip of the ice berg.

During the following three months, they were nearly caught making out in the club during daylight hours by one of the bar tenders and she came home to Victor, freshly fucked and still reeking of sex on more than one occasion.

To top it all off, Marie finally agreed to allow Victor an opportunity to conceive his "heir". Little did he know, after every annoying attempt to get her pregnant, she'd wait until he was asleep and take her birth control pill, just as she had faithfully done every night for the past four and a half years.

When the celebrity gossip rags came out, Logan stumbled upon a story in a local paper that was entitled, "A Baby On the Way for New York's 'It' Couple?", that had Marie and Victor's picture on it.

He bought the paper and returned home to have a stiff drink.

A few days later, Marie came over and he immediately confronted her with the article, "Is this true?"

She scrunched up her face and took the paper, "Damn, I look huge in that picture."

"Marie-"

She laughed and hit him with the paper, "Logan! Of course it's not true!"

Logan sat down next to her, "Then why'd they print this crap? I know these gossip rags are 90% shit, but the other 10% are valid seeds of information they get from somewhere..."

Marie rolled her eyes, "If you must know...Victor was going around blabbing about how we're working on starting a family...and he thinks we are...only I haven't stopped taking birth control."

He let out a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, "This is bad. You know, eventually, he's gonna figure out you're doin' something to keep from getting pregnant, right?"

She rubbed her temples and threw her hands up, "I know! I know...it's risky, but I am NOT having that man's child."

Logan sighed, stood and held out his hand, "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"This is too much to think about while we're still dressed and being deprived of orgasms."

Marie giggled as Logan grabbed her hand and threw her over his shoulder before carrying him into his bedroom and tossing her on the soft mattress. She playfully yanked him onto the bed and jumped on top of him as they began undressing.

Just as he was about to unlatch her bra, her phone rang. She leaned over and grabbed it out of the pocket of her discarded jeans, "Hello?"

The voice on the other end was shaky, "Marie? It's Janice. Where are you?"

Marie looked at her half-dressed lover, "I'm uh...uh-"

"Mr. Creed is looking for you and he's mad...really mad."

Marie bit her lip and panicked as she began putting her clothes back on, "Mad about what? Did he say anything?"

Janice sighed, "All I heard him say was, 'I'm flushing them all down the fucking toilet.'"

Marie closed her eyes and put a hand on her forehead, "Thanks, Janice...see you later."

Logan stood and began dressing as well, "What's going on?"

"He found my stash of birth control...he's on the war path."

* * *

**OK. Despite the positive response to my question of adding a baby to this fic, I've made to executive decision to keep it without a little mini-Marie/Logan, for now. I would definitely not have another "Who's the daddy" s/l since I just did one, so no worries there. I think that this story stands alone really well without the added element of a pregnancy. My plot muse, Ryromaniac, did provide a brilliant idea for how to go about adding a baby to this fic, so for you folks who do want to see a Rogan baby, I might just do an alternate mini-story that picks up from last chapter and entitle it "Dangerous Games: Redux". That way, I can maintain the integrity of this story and see it through without a baby, but at the same time, I can satisfy the Rogan baby cravers appetites in a completely different location. What do you think?**


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm coming with you", Logan said as he put his shoes on.

Marie bit her bottom lip, "If you keep jumping to my defense, he's gonna suspect something."

He suddenly yelled and threw his hands up, making her jump, "I don't give a shit! I want him to know! I want this fucking charade to be over! I love you and he needs to know that."

Marie's mouth dropped open before she suddenly rushed forward and threw herself into his arms. She closed her eyes and repeatedly breathed the words, "I love you...I love you...I love you so much..."

A sudden banging on the door made them both jump, "Logan! It's Vic! Open up!"

Marie tried to keep from hyperventilating as she snatched up the remainder of her belongings. Logan yelled, "I'll be right there!"

She darted into the closet as Logan closed the door behind her and gave the room a brief once over before he rushed to the door. Victor barged in without even giving him a second look, "What the fuck took you so long?"

Logan breathed out, "I about to get in the shower. Did you want me to answer the door naked?"

Victor grunted in disgust and put his hands on his hips as he looked around the apartment, "You have someone here?"

"What? No...why?"

Victor motioned toward the two wine glasses sitting on his counter, "The wine glass with the lipstick on it."

Logan nodded, "Oh. Right..."

"Oh...she still here?"

Logan shook his head, "Nope. You know how I do. In and out." Victor smirked and rubbed his chin before turning toward the window and looking out. Logan glanced back to the bedroom and cleared his throat, "What's up?"

Victor turned back around and sighed, "I was ready to have a baby, so I told Marie to get off her birth control. For three months, I'm givin' it to her and she doesn't get pregnant...I think there's something wrong with me..." He paused and pulled a half empty packet of birth control out of his pocket, "Then I find this hidden in one of her books."

Logan coughed a little, "Wow...is that birth control?"

"No, they're mints...of course they're birth control. Why the fuck would she lie to me? Why doesn't she want to have my son?"

Logan tried not to laugh and crossed his arms before nervously glancing back to the bedroom, "Perhaps because you're insisting it be a son...kinda sounding like Henry the Eighth there, bro. Maybe she's afraid you'll behead her if she has a girl."

"Come on, look at me. Do you think I could produce anything other than a boy?"

Logan smirked, "Heh. Right. Did you ask Marie if she's ready for a baby?"

Victor rolled his eyes, "Why wouldn't she be ready? I can afford to hire all the help she needs."

He stole another glance toward the bedroom, "Marie doesn't really seem like the type of woman who would hand her baby off to someone else to raise. Maybe she wants her kid to be raised by their parents. Go easy on her. I'm sure her heart was in the right place."

Victor scoffed, "Yeah. right..."

Logan watched him stand, "Where are you going?"

Victor gave him a long look before clearing his throat and buttoning his sport coat, "I'm gonna stop by the club, then go back home. I have to finish flushing all of her fucking birth control...but you're right, I should go easy on her...so I will." He turned back to Logan, "You should come by for dinner tonight."

After Victor left, Logan watched him board the elevator through the peephole, then retrieved Marie from her hiding spot, "Sorry baby, you OK?"

She nodded, "Yeah...he seemed...calm. Almost rational."

"Yeah...hope he's OK. Rational and calm isn't exactly normal Victor behavior."

After waiting for a few minutes, he kissed her goodbye and sent her home. A few hours later, he drove over to the mansion for dinner.

When he entered, he was surprised to see one of Victor's goons open the door instead of Janice. When he asked about her, he claimed Victor gave her the night off. The goon then directed him to the large dining room. When he entered, his heart hit his stomach.

Marie was sitting in a chair beside Victor, trembling as tears streamed down her face. Her cheek was bright red and her lip was split...no doubt, Victor's handy work. Logan snarled and started to take a step forward, but was grabbed by two of Victor's cronies, one of which had answered the door. They each held one of his arms, leaving him completely vulnerable.

Logan struggled, "Vic! What the fuck?"

Marie looked at Logan with fearful eyes as the goons yanked him back. Victor took a long sip of his wine and sighed, "Ever hear the tale of Cain and Abel, Logan? A brother driven to murder, fueled by jealousy...sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

Logan's eyes widened when he suddenly realized that Marie's bruised cheek and split lip weren't because of her hidden birth control...Victor had found out the bigger secret.

Victor set his wine glass down and stood before trailing a finger over the back of the chair Marie sat in. He suddenly grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head back, "Women are complicated creatures, aren't they? Beautiful and delicate...but conniving and venomous. A beautiful woman can be the downfall of the most powerful of men." He roughly let go of her hair and began walking toward Logan, "I bet you wanna know how I found out, huh?"

He walked over to Logan and punched him in the gut, then quickly straightened out his jacket as his brother coughed and groaned. Marie shrieked, but covered her mouth out of fear of retaliation from Victor.

She trembled and watched as Logan slowly raised his head to look back up at Victor, who resumed his story, "It started on your birthday, doll. I saw you two come back from where ever you'd disappeared to during the night, then, out of curiosity, I watched you. I saw the way you looked at each other. Of course, I tried to brush it off...then when I found out that my lovely wife was doing everything she could to keep from getting pregnant, I had to wonder why..."

He began slowly and casually walking back to Marie, prompting Logan to struggle against the men holding him. He couldn't allow him to hurt Marie any more than he already had.

Victor smirked at the growling Logan, "I found her birth control and made a bee line for the one person I thought I could talk to...my brother. I smelled her perfume as soon as I walked in the door. I saw her lipstick on that damn wine glass...but then again, other women could wear her perfume. Other women could even wear her lipstick. I had to be sure...so I stopped by the club and reviewed the security camera footage from that night...and then I saw it...you two, going into the office, then coming out fifteen minutes later, straightening out your clothes and him, readjusting his balls like they'd just been ridden like the true slut she is..."

Logan yanked against his captors again, "Fuckin' asshole..."

Victor raised his brows and laughed, "ME? I'm the fuckin' asshole? You get out of jail in need of a second chance and I hand you the keys to the goddamn kingdom and what do you do?"

Victor suddenly rushed forth and punched Logan in the face as hard as he could, drawing blood. Marie screamed, "Stop it!"

He wiped the blood off of his knuckles with a handkerchief and walked back over to Marie, "Didn't I give you everything? Huh? Didn't I give you all the fucking jewelry, trips, cars and clothes you could ever want?"

She screamed back at him and jumped to her feet, "Yeah! But you didn't give me anything else! When my life was at risk, it was Logan who saved it! You couldn't even stop fucking another woman long enough to be concerned about whether I lived or died! I never wanted your money, Victor! I wanted YOU, but you broke my fucking heart by constantly cheating on me! You made me feel expendable, like everything else in your life!" He was slightly taken aback at her outburst and actually quieted down, so she continued, "I only ever wanted you to love me back and respect me, but you never ever did! The cheating, the lying, the complete and total lack of disregard for my feelings and needs! You drove me away! You drove me into the arms of a man who could love me the way you didn't want to!"

Victor, who was suddenly enraged, rushed back over to Logan, "You think he loves you more than I can?" With that, he punched him in the face again as she screamed, "You think he can give you everything I can?" He laid another punch to his gut.

Marie vigorously shook her rushed forward, "Victor no-"

She mustered up enough strength to grab Victor before he was able to lay another punch to his bruised and bleeding brother.

Logan spit a mouthful of blood on the ground and looked up as Marie broke into uncontrollable sobs and fell to her knees in front of Victor, "Please! Stop! Don't hurt him! I'm sorry! It was my fault! It was all me! I tricked him! I lied to him and I tricked him into the affair. I was just trying to get back at you for all the cheating. I'm sorry! Don't hurt Logan...he didn't mean to hurt you...it was me."

Logan let out a pained breath and shook his head, "Marie...don't-"

She cut him off, "Baby, look at me...you know I love you...I'm sorry. You know how women can be...Logan had just got out of prison and I made him...I made him think I actually cared about him."

Logan shook his head, "Marie-"

She ignored him, but by the tremble in her frame and the pain in her voice, he knew she was doing it all just to protect him from a severe beating or worst, death. Marie stood up and gripped onto Victor's jacket for dear life, shedding tears and begging for his forgiveness.

Victor sighed and lowered his hands, "You realize how much trouble you caused?"

Marie nodded and pursed her lips together, "I know honey...I'm sorry...but you made me so jealous. I just wanted you to pay me a little more attention...come on...don't be like this..."

Victor eyed her carefully, then glanced to Logan, "What about him? You can't expect me to trust him around you...I should kill him-"

"No!" she yelled, but quickly righted her tone and cleared her throat, "No...just send him to the west coast. He loves you, baby...he's your brother. You guys are a lot alike...you both have a weakness for me..."

Victor smirked bitterly and looked at Logan, then waved his hand, signaling for his goons to let the his battered brother go.

Marie wiped her cheeks, then pulled Victor's face down to kissed him, "Let's just put this whole thing behind us, OK? We can go upstairs and really start trying for that baby of yours..."

He softened a little and smirked down at her as he ran a hand down her ass, "You drive me fuckin' crazy, you know that?"

Over his shoulder, Marie bit her bottom lip to calm its trembling as she nodded, "Mmhm."

Victor patted her ass, "Go on upstairs. I'll be up in a minute."

Marie worriedly glanced back at Logan, then left.

As soon as she got back to her room, she grabbed her tiny, pearl handled hand gun from her nightstand to be sure it was loaded, then stashed it under her pillow.

She looked up from washing her face just as Victor walked into the room. She knew his adrenaline would be pumping and he would be feeling aggressive after the confrontation, so it was no surprise when he began unbuttoning his pants as soon as the door was closed.

Marie looked to the floor and silently pulled her panties down from underneath her skirt, then walked over to her side of the bed. Victor stood before her and smirked before spinning her around and putting a hand on the back of her neck, roughly forcing her to bend over. He licked and bit at her ear, "You've been a very bad girl..."

She cringed and gritted her teeth as he entered her and began roughly fucking her against the bed. Marie closed her eyes and gripped onto the blanket, just praying it would be over soon.

Victor leaned over and whispered into her ear as he continued thrusting, "Wanna know something baby? After I finish fucking you...I'm gonna go downstairs and kill your boyfriend...you know you always were a terrible liar."

Marie's eyes widened as she began screaming and fighting against him, "No! Logan! No!"

He grabbed her hair as he slipped out of her and spun her around as he snatched her face to his, "You think I'm stupid, Marie? Huh? Do you?"

She attempted to push away as she continued screaming as loudly as she could, "Get off of me! Logan! Run!"

He laughed sinisterly and pinned her to the bed as he attempted to force his way between her kicking legs. He was so preoccupied with keeping his family jewels out of harm's way, he loosened his hold on her wrists, enabling her to yank away and grab her gun from under the pillow.

Marie pressed the barrel against his forehead, "Get off."

Victor froze before he moved from atop her and stood up. He started to reach down to pull up his pants, but she jumped and straightened her arm, silently demonstrating that she wouldn't hesitate to shoot. He raised a brow, "Can I at least get dressed? Or are you going to kill me with my pants down?"

She concentrated on trying to still her trembling body as he pulled up his pants, "I don't want to kill you, Victor...I did love you."

The sudden sound of gunshots distracted Marie, giving Victor the chance to grab the gun and backhand her, hard. The force of the hit sent her crashing against the large wardrobe, then crumpling to the floor, holding her face. She blinked rapidly as the force of the hit threatened to steal her consciousness.

Victor buttoned his shirt and reached down to grab her up by her hair, "Honey...you're really starting to piss me off."

He drug her out of the room, holding the gun and calling for the two men who served as his muscle for the evening. He practically dragged her down the stairs as he continued calling for them.

When they heard only silence, he grumbled and yanked her toward the back of the house. He suddenly stopped when the lights blinked out and all was quiet. Logan rounded the corner, holding up a gun, panting heavily and with new injuries.

"Let her go."

Victor yanked her head back and pressed the gun against her temple, making her close her eyes, "I have a better proposal. How about, you drop _your_ gun or she dies."

Logan's eyes widened, "Victor...it's me you want. Leave her alone."

"No. I think I feel equally wronged by both of you...my wife and my brother...I think I'd like you both dead...well, you more than her. She's a sexy little piece of ass...but I guess you know that already."

"You didn't treat her right, Vic. You drove her away. You never bothered to invest real time and real interest in her...that's why she was looking for someone else."

Victor's intense gaze faltered slightly, "And what was your fuckin' excuse? Were you just jealous? Were you tryin' to get back at me for the fact that you had to do time?"

Logan looked into Marie's frightened eyes and slowly dropped the gun, then put his hands up, "Alright...I was jealous. Let Marie go."

Victor laughed and aimed the gun at Logan as he tightened his grip on his wife, "How sweet of you. Sorry to say, bro, but that little selfless act just means that you die first."

Marie screamed and grabbed Victor's arm just as he pulled the trigger as the bullet narrowly missed Logan. She grabbed onto his wrist and refused to let go until he practically threw her across the room.

Just as he was about to turn back to Logan to take aim again, he was tackled to the ground by his brother. They wrestled for the gun for several moments, but Victor got the upper hand and knocked Logan off of him.

Victor scrambled to his feet and aimed at his brother, "Night, Logan..."

A shot rang out and Logan immediately closed his eyes, preparing for the searing pain of a bullet.

* * *

**hahah! I love cliffhangers! Review and I might not leave you hanging for too long! :-) Also, I'm shopping ideas for my next fic. Please feel free to send suggestions and ideas my way!**


	10. Chapter 10

Logan opened his eyes to look down at his own body and realize that he was unharmed, then turned his eyes upwards to see Victor stumble, then fall to the floor.

When his brother fell to the ground, he saw Janice, the unassuming maid, standing there with a smoking gun still aimed determinedly at Victor's cringing form. She rushed over and kicked his dropped weapon away from him, while keeping the gun aimed steadily...almost professionally.

"You bitch! You shot me!" he ground out as he grasped the bullet wound to his shoulder.

Janice smirked, "Then I guess I can forget about that raise then, huh?" She pulled out a badge, "Jan Avery, FBI...you're under arrest Victor Creed..."

Logan scrambled over to Marie, who was just regaining consciousness from her place on the floor. He gently stroked her face, "You OK?"

She rubbed her temple and nodded as he wrapped her in a hug, relieved that she was alive and well. Marie's eyes widened at the sight of "Janice" holding a gun on her wounded husband, "Janice? What the hell?"

Janice pulled out a walkie talkie, said something into it, and within seconds, the house was swarming with medical personnel and law enforcement officials. She walked over to Marie and knelt down in front of her, "Your husband was involved in some extremely shady business dealings. We've been trying to pin him to a string of crimes for years and, of course everyone was too afraid to testify against him...but you'd be amazed how much information an unassuming maid is let in on."

Marie shook her head and ran a hand through her hair as she narrowed her eyes at her friend, "Wait a second...wait a minute...you're a cop?"

"FBI...I actually only go by Jan. I'm really sorry I had to deceive you...you are a terrific person."

Logan shook his head and rubbed Marie's back, "Did you guys do anything when you found out someone was trying to kill her?"

Janice pursed her lips together, "We didn't realize until after you two had skipped town. We never tailed Marie. After getting to know her myself, it was pretty clear she didn't have anything to do with Victor's business dealings, so keeping an eye on her would have been a waste of time and resources."

"Time and resources? She was almost murdered right underneath your noses!"

Janice sighed and crossed her arms, "We know...and I'm personally very upset that it happened on my watch. Sometimes the FBI has tunnel vision...we wanted Victor so bad, we didn't bother to watch out for you. It was our mistake and we know you went through hell because of it...so we'll just pretend those two dead bodies that showed up in Aspen had nothing to do with you and call it even, how about that, Logan?"

He immediately shut up and nodded, "Right...OK."

Logan hugged Marie close and kissed her forehead as Janice smiled at them, "If it's any consolation...you guys make a cute couple."

With that, Janice stood and walked back over to where Victor was receiving medical attention and being read his Miranda rights. He just sat there, staring daggers at Marie and Logan as they comforted each other.

"Mr. Creed...do you understand these rights as I've explained them to you?"

Victor smirked sinisterly, "Yeah...now let me call my lawyer."

After he paramedics patched up Logan and Marie, they watched as Victor was led away. He smirked over his shoulder, "You know I'll be back, Marie..."

Logan gave her a reassuring squeeze as Victor disappeared out the door. The FBI allowed them to leave soon after, and as soon as he drove the car out of the gates, a group of reporters rushed the car and began flashing pictures and yelling out questions.

He grumbled and grabbed a jacket off the back seat, "Put this over your head."

She did, successfully hiding her face from the hoards of photographers.

When they got to his apartment building, she was relieved that reporters had yet to figure out where Logan lived.

Marie reveled in the fact that, for the first time ever, they walked into the front entrance of his building with his arm around her. He instructed the door man not to allow any reporters or photographers into the building.

Up in his apartment, she smiled at him as he fixed them both a stiff drink, then plopped down on the couch beside her, breathing out before taking a sip, "Rough day..."

"You can say that again", she laughed softly as she gulped down her drink, then put the cool glass against her cheek to calm the throbbing there.

Logan glanced at her and smirked, "I think I got some Tylenol...we should both take some."

As he got up, she stopped him and smiled, "I'll get it...I have something special I want to do anyways."

Marie disappeared into the bedroom and left him alone in the living room for nearly twenty minutes before she called him from the bathroom.

When he entered, there were a couple of candles lit and Marie was naked in the tub waiting for him, "I remember someone tellin' me how much warm water helps sore muscles..."

He smiled and gingerly shrugged his aching limbs out of his clothes before joining her in the spacious tub. He pulled her back against his broad chest and kissed her temple as she laid back against him, "Love you..."

Marie closed her eyes and let out a comforting breath, "Love you too..."

Logan sighed contentedly and frowned as he traced his finger over a bruise on her side. That bastard had hurt her...and Logan was going to make damn sure he never did again.

They stayed in the tub until the water turned cool and their fingers were pruned. Marie checked the dark bruises on his stomach and face, "You feelin' better?"

He nodded and waved his hand dismissively, "I've been through worst...I'll be right as rain before you know it."

She kissed him gently, being sure not to put any pressure on either of their cut lips. He gave her one of his large flannel shirts to sleep in and they both climbed into bed to go to sleep and temporarily forget about the stresses of their night.  


* * *

Marie immediately hired a lawyer and began divorce proceedings. The story of her husband's arrest and their impending divorce was splashed across the tabloids and reporters began camping out outside of the club, the house and even Logan's apartment.

She was afraid that Victor would contest the divorce, but things went smoothly...perhaps because he had bigger fish to fry.

Thanks to their undercover maid and his own recorded video surveillance of the property, the evidence against him was pretty damning, so he and his lawyers were extremely busy with trying to convince a judge that he wasn't a flight risk so that he could at least get out on bail. That was Marie's biggest fear. If Victor got out for any given amount of time, there's no telling what he would do.

Because their prenuptial agreement would be voided if Victor was convicted of a crime, Marie's lawyer tried to get her to wait until after Victor's trial to finalize her divorce so that she could get more money, but she was adamant about getting it over and done with.

Instead, she agreed to settle for what the prenuptial agreement granted her, which was $500,000 for every year of their marriage and ownership of their beach front home in the Hamptons.

After the mediation and when her divorce was settled, she put the Hamptons home on the market for $1.5 million. There was no way she would ever want to stay in a property that Victor owned...he and his "friends" would track her down too easily.

She and Logan wanted a fresh start. They needed to start their own life together.

By the time Marie and Logan sold the beach house, Victor's trial had started and the media presence in New York had become overbearing, so one day, she and Logan packed up a few bags worth of necessities and flew across country to Seattle, a city Marie had always loved.

After spending a few days there, Logan fell in love with it as well, and they quickly bought a large, six bedroom home on Bainbridge Island, just across the water from Seattle. This house, although large and beautiful, lacked the ornate trappings and pomp and circumstance of she and Victor's mansion.

This house was a home. There were no gates, no circular driveways and no pretentious gold-plated decor. It was a gorgeous, hardy plank and wooden lake home surrounded by nature and open air.

They closed on the day Victor was found guilty of money laundering, three counts of assault and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. That night, after the movers dropped off countless boxes of their things and a few pieces of furniture, Logan lit a fire in the great room, where a huge, stone fireplace sat. They opened up a bottle of wine and sat on the floor in front of the roaring fire with their Chinese take out.

Logan raised a glass, "To Victor..."

Marie raised a brow, "To Victor?"

He nodded, "If it weren't for him, I never would have met you...and my life wouldn't be as extraordinary as it is today."

She tapped her glass against his and giggled, "To Victor, then."

They both took a sip of their wine as Logan casually reached into his shirt pocket, "Oh, before I forget..." He set a ring down on the box beside her plate of Chow Mein and took another sip of his wine.

Marie's mouth dropped open as she looked between him and the ring. It was a gorgeous, simple antique ring that was not at all like the extravagant four carat monstrosity Victor had marked her with.

It was clear that this ring had a story. She slowly picked it up and smiled, "It's beautiful..."

He reached over and took it from her as he cradled her hand in his and slowly slipped it on her finger, "The last owner was married to her husband for 50 years...they were high school sweethearts, but then, World War 2 happened and he enlisted. He promised her they would get married as soon as the war was over, come hell or high water."

Marie smiled dreamily at him as he kept his eyes on her finger, which was now adorned with the ring he had given her, "Then what happened?"

Logan kissed her hand, "Then...his plane was shot down and he was reported as missing in action...but his high school sweetheart refused to give up hope. She just knew that no matter what, he'd keep his promise to her. At the end of the war, when the allied troops were liberating concentration camps and POW camps in Poland...they found a man in one of them, barely alive, clinging to a picture of a beautiful girl. Months later...he returned home and put this ring on her finger."

She didn't realize she was crying until Logan reached up and brushed the tears off of her cheeks. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, placing her forehead against his, "You think our love story is that beautiful?"

He smirked, "You kiddin' me, darlin'? Ours is ten times better..."

Marie kissed him gently at first, but soon, Logan wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. She yanked off her jacket as they continued kissing, but he suddenly broke the kiss, "Just one thing I need you to know before you give me a final yes..."

"What is it?"

He kissed her chin and smirked, "We're gonna have kids...soon..."

Marie raised her eyebrows and smiled, "Is that so?"

Logan answered with a hungry kiss as he rolled them over so that he was on top of her on the floor. He took his time, kissing and caressing every inch of flesh he exposed as he undressed her.

Soon, Marie was naked beside the fireplace and writhing beneath his gentle touch. He moved between her legs and easily slipped inside of her, moaning at the complete ecstasy of being enveloped so fully by her velvety folds.

Marie bit her lip and closed her eyes as he began thrusting into her. Every time for her was pure heaven.

She wrapped her arms around him and whispered into his ear, "Oh god...Logan...Logan!"

Her hot, breathy voice spurred him to move faster and harder inside of her...she knew exactly what pushed his buttons by now, and she was definitely sending him over the edge, "Damn baby...damn you're so good..."

Marie cried out and arched her back as her own orgasm surprised her, making her entire body tense and freeze in place. Logan had no choice but to cum. Her walls gripped onto him so tight, they practically milked him to orgasm.

He roared and slammed into her one last time before collapsing on top of her and kissing her neck as he whispered breathlessly, "God Marie...I love you."

She smiled and caressed the back of his neck, "Love you too..."

**The End of Part 1  
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Did you enjoy it? I hope so! I marked it as the end of "part 1" because I'm thinking of maybe Victor coming back and attempting to wreak havoc in their lives. Not sure.  
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